Friday freebie digital stamp- Ronald 30th July

Hello!

It's the last week of July (it's felt like a LONG month)

I am literally packing for the hen-do this weekend so I am gonna make this short and sweet.

Meet Ronald. He is a geek, but a loveable geek!

He loves star wars, radiohead, maths, the smell of play doh and getting an A on his test papers.

I will admit that, he is not the most typical thing to pop on a greetings card..

but for the quirky at heart - I hope he finds a place on your hard-drive.

xxxx

I used the colour one for a card topper and only added a mini sentiment...

Whilst Caroline made this AWESOME card with the chemical symbols... fab!

So clever!

Anyway - I really gotta go!

DOWNLOAD RONALD HERE

I found my desk!

This is my desk - It sits in the window of my bedroom (yes.. I know.. hardly romantic) BUT it's all I have :-) This is it in it's tidiest state. And even that is messy - but for me it works.

I sit here to draw - scrap - make cards and all the various that goes in between.

Nothing quite like a clear desk and new photos to motivate you to scrap. I wish my desk still looked like this - I can assure you I am a "scrap and leave" kinda gal. Of course.. leaving the mess behind doesn't motivate me to scrap again (catch 22!)

Anyway. Clear desk, new photos and my love affair with "Thrift shop" October afternoon papers meant that I actually scrapped. I even used the remains of a page kit that I put together for a recent crop... what has come over me!?

close up: (obviously)

Ps: I am embarking on a weekend of manic delight soon - in 24 hours time I will be on a train to London to meet up with my best friend and 13 others for her hen-do of epic proportions.

I am both nervous and excited.

Today I am both full of that feeling you get when you are giddy with uncertainty - but also full of cold.. which sucks a little.. BUT I am gonna blow my nose a million times today and hope that I blow the cold away! (that will work right?)

= What are you doing this weekend?

Attention digi scrappers.

You may know that I am on the design team for 

Owl Tree Studio, a digital scrapbook kit club. The design team has put together anincredible August lineup (while you check it out on Facebook, go ahead and like OTS so you stay up to date on all things OTS and important) and the creative team has put together some incredible quick pages, blog posts, scrap challenges and page templates for you to enjoy.

As we get closer to opening day, the Owl Tree Studio crew wants to give you an opportunity to try them out for FREE.

That’s right...F-R-E-E!

On Sunday, August 1st, 2010 Owl Tree Studio plus each of the three resident designers will be giving away free memberships to Owl Tree Studio. You can enter to win as many times as you want between now and July 31st, 2010 at 10am (EST). Everyone’s contest rules are different, so you’ll have to visit each designers’ blog to find out exactly what you have to do to enter their portion of the giveaway.

Enter to win a free membership from the official Owl Tree Studio blog by:

Following OTS on Facebook - 1 Facebook follower will win a free 1 month membership

Follow OTS on Twitter and ReTweet:

"Follow @OwlTreeStudio & RT this for a chance to win a free month of great digital scrapbooking goodies http://bit.ly/aib6cA #digiscrap"

- 1 Twitter follower will win a free 1 month membership

Join the mailing list (and get a free beach themed digi kit) - 2 mailing list subscribers will each win a free 3 month membership

Sometimes, the studio owls get a little over excited and rumor has it one commenter on the Owl Tree Studio blog contest post might win a 1 month membership as well.

Follow OTS on Facebook and Twitter AND join our mailing list for the biggest chance of winning, then visit the incredible designers’ blogs to pick up more chances to win through the designer contests!

[Fine print: Winners will be selected using Random.org. You can only win one time. If you win, you will have to sign up as a paying member to continue accessing the OTS members’ area AFTER your free membership period ends].

2 years ago yesterday..........

I said "I do"

Not for the first time, but this time it was the right time.

Being under 30 and on a second marriage raises eyebrows - It raises my own! I cannot believe that at this age I am a divorcee' and re-married. BUT, I can believe that the happiness I feel now is real, honest and lasting. We have our ups and downs - marriage needs patience and work and devotion. It needs time, to be close and also to know when to step back and breathe. But I know in my heart that we work and belong together.

When I married Ben, we were already parents to Finlay. We wanted to be official, I wanted to share his last name as well as make our relationship legal. We had Finlay named on our wedding day too, our way of declaring our love for him, making him part of the unit we were becoming that day. I had never been prouder. I still am.

Two years ago I said "I do" ... I still do.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The lovely Shimelle has (quite rightly) been nominated for an award on the Ella Publishing blog....

"Most influential scrapbooker 2010"

Apart from from her blog being a fab read, you can also....

You have just HOURS left to log onto Shimelle's blog and win prizes..

You won't want to miss them!
Log on here

Friday Freebie digi stamp. Beach huts 23rd July

Morning all.... it's midnight here in the uk when this goes live.. so if any UK girls are up still.. off to bed with you!!

(ok - you can download the freebie first)

This week we are heading towards the beach .

I have a thing for beach huts - it is recent, I must admit, living in a coastal town beach hut gifts are EVERYWHERE.. and for YEARS I was always very anti "nautical" themed items, esp in bathrooms (why is it people always "beach" up their bathrooms!??!?!) ~Anyway, I digress.... oh yeah, beach huts.. but I have recently admitted to my inner secret feelings for them.

Hastings is famous for its net huts (google it!) and they are glorious to behold, and they remind me of giant beach huts. I have spent a fair few summer days recently fighting against the students who flock here in the Summer to enjoy some time on the beach in Hastings. Wasting 20p's in the two grabber machines etc etc..

So I thought I would doodle some beach huts, for me mainly, and then I thought some of you might like them too...

I made an easel card again this week... which was kinda funny, because when I opened my emails from Leanne Inkpen I saw we had made the same style of card...

See? Cute huh - only - Leanne actually coloured her beach huts, and I took the lazy route!

Loving the swiss polka dot sea!

Lisa Hines made this super cute card, with deckchair stripes and a paper windmill.

And Caroline whipped up some postcards!!!

How cute are these? A good idea too, I hadn't thought about postcards - but of course the image lends itself nicely to the idea!

Anyway! Here is the DOWNLOAD LINK... enjoy!

I want to thank all of my CT for their ongoing support - sadly July will see Kylie Kueter leave us. Kylie's work was always beautiful and I am sad to see her leave....but Leanne Inkpen has agreed to stay on with us and play along with the designs - which is fab news!

(The CT side bar will be updated this week!)

And also - I want thank you guys - the drawings are getting so many downloads - it's amazing. I never thought for one minute that I would reach over 33 thousand downloads in 6 months!

I also want to Thank my friend Laura who gave me the confidence and idea to do Freebie Fridays in the first place! Anyway - thats enough mushy talk, anyone would think i'd won a blummin oscar the way i'm carrying on!

In other news.......

The Little musings stamp collection has been finalised now, and images for the first release have been chosen and are in production - updates on that soon!

Popular Crafts

Popular Crafts have run a little interview with me for their "Hands On" review section.

I love the crafting world, and answering questions!

Pop by and see.......

badge winner

So - this post was meant to occur Wednesday -but I forgot!! Eeep... how rubbish am I?

Anyway - I was reminded by a lovely lady to do the draw.. and so I can now announce that the winner for the polaroid badge is.....

mamichelle

You had the winning number comment!

If you would like to email me your address I will pop it in the post to you.

xxxxxxxxx

July 16th Digi Stamp Freebie - "I made you a mix tape"

Morning all! *bleary eyed* It's Friday (for some) and this weeks "random" freebie is a cassette mix tape! *ok - I know what you are thinking "Enough with the randomness"... I promise it stops *after next week* lol.
August is going to be "All things festive" (Christmas... I know... please don't throw bricks at me - I bet the Randomness is suddenly all appealing!!!)
For those of you who don't remember mix tapes (lol.. ok... that won't be many, and if you don't please don't rub it in!) They were awesome ensembles of music that we painstakingly put together to play on our walk-man and cry over our latest crushes! OR in my case - the current weeks top 40. In fact - the other day, I found an old cassette that me, my brother and friend Lara had put together when we were like 10, of a fake radio station.. it was awful!
Anyway - onto the reason you are all here!

here is what the CT did.
Leanne made an amazing CD case - by printing her own patterned paper using a grey scale version of the stickered cassette drawing - It's amazing - I love it! And if you are lucky - she may post a tutorial on her blog with step by steps!
Oh look at it!! It's so cute huh!

Lisa Hines decided to make my mind explode by creating this Tshirt.. I kid you not...

Is that not the most freakishly awesome thing you have ever seen?? I want one! So talented that it makes me green lol!
And, now on to my shameful embarrassing effort - I nearly didn't upload it LOL!
Just a little card.. using sassafrass stickers to help "pop" the tape.

Now go back and look at the first two projects!!
*sigh*
Oh = and if you want the freebie...
DOWNLOAD IT HERE

Have a good week!
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

photoshop-elements actions

I have a few "actions" in my photoshop elements - but nothing that fancy - till now!

Browsing the interweb I came across the gorgeous Coffeeshop actions blog.

And downloaded myself some CUTE actions - and the instructions of how to install (which were really helpful!) And got to work straight away on trying them out.

What could be better?

Oh - did I mention THEY ARE FREE???

I love love love the sun flare you can add in using the sun-kissed action!

And here is Lola looking all retro in "lomo"

And this photo of Finlay was really really bright before - I liked it, but the sun was warm and his hair came out very orange (its not this ginger in real life) - So the "memories of sunshine" action gave it a really subtle colour and now I LOVE the photo!

Do you use actions? If you do - download the freebies and have fun, warning - it is highly addictive!

Latest musings & special offer...

It's a bit of a grey did here in the UK = cold overcast skies. So me and Finlay have spent all day reading books and doing "indoor play" (cooking on his play cooker etc etc!)
I realised that I hadn't done a Little Musing post for a while.
So - if you are new to my blog (or the freebies) You may be surprised to know that I draw to order too. Be it a family portrait - a pet portrait and more recently, business logos!
Each drawing can come complete with an outline version, as well as the colour (if requested) so you can colour it in yourself etc.... an option that is popular among the crafters out there who place orders!
(this option is free when you place an order with little musings)

Backgrounds are another optional free extra...

If you have an idea for your wedding invites or stationary - but no photo, email me the details and we can work something out!

I love doing pictures where the clothing is detailed - it helps personalise the images!

And as I mentioned before - I have been doing some business logos recently - some really gorgeous logos! I do a business logo package for £15 - which includes:

Logo
Header
Business card (if needed)
Compliment slip
and headed paper
(all digital files sent via email for you to have professionally printed)

I did a logo for Lucy's cupcake shop recently...

and she opted for an extra musing for the "about me" section of her website!
Cute huh?!

So - tempted?
Well - Orders placed till the end of July will receive a discounted price.
I am offering 20% off prices till July 31st.
If you want a quote - don't hesitate to drop me an email.
sarahjane@scrappyfairy.co.uk
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday Sunday.....

So - I scrapped again. I'm not going to lie - I had till Saturday lost my scrappy mojo,

I wanted to scrap.. well.. I knew I should want to scrap.. but the warm weather wipes it out of me, makes me want to sit on a picnic blanket and just "be"

So when the Eclectic Keepsakes crop came around I was looking forward to falling back in love with paper.

This LO was made using the kit Laura Buckingham put together to teach with at the crop. Cute page kit! (I was naughty and didn't follow the class... slap wrist)

Swing by her blog and check out the beautiful peonies I ordered her for passing her Uni course WITH A FIRST! I am so proud of her - so clever and awesome.

The LO is about me and Ben and how on a Monday (shifts allowing) We get to spend some time together being just "us" again.

And I finally got round to scrapping these two photos that Shimelle took a year ago of me on a bridge on the South bank - London.

I like scrapping "girlie" pages - I literally never get a chance to so this was fun!

And this one features a photo you've probably not seen before *lol.. I jest*

I have had the doily paper in my "must use soon!!" Pile for a while now - cos it is soooo pretty!

I had to change the thickers on this one - I did the title in glittery brown ones at first - but you just couldn't read it properly. Green fitted just as well - and at least you can make out the title now. I stuck to my usual thing - photo - title - clustered elements...

It felt good to be out and about - scrapping with old friends and new, and some people I knew but didn't know I knew them (long story - "Hi Louise!!!") So that was good.

And Sunday saw one of those impromptu days - when you wake up and think "yawn.. I have NO plans at all.." and then all of a sudden it see's you go going out - buying curtains and oil cloth and then going over to your parents, having dinner, eating hazelnut meringues and covering your chairs in said oil cloth.....

What do you think?

It was like a mini make over... or in fact - IS a mini make over.

The chairs were tired, dirty and impractical with a 2 year old..

So - I went to the fabric section of Dunelm Mill and purchased this gorgeous polka dot Clarke & Clarke oil cloth - and covered each chair seat.

I am in serious love - I am sitting on one as we type and its fab.

I love the fact that Finlay cannot dirty it - as its wipe clean. Whoop!

And I have a ton left over - like over a meter! So - with a little off cut I made this teeny tiny clutter bucket for my cotton buds (or Q-tips if you are from the US!)

Cute huh?

And now? Now I am sitting in my pajamas and about to embark on an evening of pointless TV viewing!

Good day!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

You asked for it....... 2nd freebie digital stamp today... "Bella & Edward"

I've gotta admit... I really liked drawing this one! 

It is REALLY HARD to get "smoulder smoulder" in a musing - the faces I draw don't lend themselves to overly detailed facial features -  so I hope I have got it enough to please you.... *I am suddenly nervous*

Want it? Download them 

HERE

"Instant" Freebie Friday - digital stamp.

Well hello!

Welcome to week two of "Miscellaneous Month"

This week we are going a little bit retro - and embracing the love of instant cameras!

It is especially apt for those of you taking Shimelle's new online class

"Love your pictures love your pages"

If you haven't already signed up - I would - its awesome and it's only just begun!

But back to the freebie...

The freebie file this week is bumper packed - six versions of the image to choose from, AND a digi paper (cute kraft and instant camera pattern)

Me and the CT have been busy bee's this week coming up with some varied projects for you!

Firstly, I printed out the camera onto canvas - backed it with polka dot fabric, sewed and stuffed it, and turned it into a badge!

*pssssssssss - want one? Leave me a comment with the words "BADGE PLEASE!!" and I will choose a lucky winner on Wednesday!*

And using the file called "PNG-HOLLOW" I used it on a digi layout. The centre part of this particular image is hollow (as the name suggests) so you can use it on digi pages and layer actual photos under it to make it look real! (cute? I hope so!!)

Caroline Sears made this AMAZING Photo album - I know I say it every week - but blimey she's good! Eeeeee - look at the rub on's she's used on the instant camera! perfect!

Caroline used the colour jpg image and added her own words to it. Amazing!

Leanne Inkpen made a gorgeous layout using the colour jpg image with the phrase "it was instant" on. Perfect for the romance of this layout, check out the use of the American Crafts ribbon - I have that still in it's packet - really really terrible hoarding - this makes me want to use it!!! Beautiful colours!

Thank you for the love last week!

So - if you want to join in the fun.... download the file for free

HERE