Busy Days.

Hi there my Friends
I have not posted for a while as I have been extremely busy getting all sorts of things done, from prepping for my workshops, putting together kits,to sewing baby swaddling blankets....yes God willing in about 4 weeks time I will be a Grand-Mother.
I made this card this morning for my friend Chrystel who is celebrating her Birthday.....
Simon Says Stamp and Show wants us to show them some woman this week...what a perfect excuse to use my favourite stamp set from Blade Rubber Stamps. I love the stamp that says."Be Still Woman, Know who you are....."

The next photo is a sneek peek of a few things from my Christmas project.

I have been planning this Mini/Journal for my Christmas workshop...BecauseI want to journal my Christmas again this year......I have to, what with the amazing new arrival!! I decided to plan something that could be versatile.
This book has 6 chipboard pages,so the girls that do not want to journal their Christmas can use it for a min album,minus the tabs.
I will use the chipboard pages with tabs, to act as page dividers....I will then add some extra pages with plain cardstock, for my Daily Journal ,but the dividers will get decorated now (and at the workshop) at the end of the month. Then the rest of the pages will get done day by day. The book cover is 17.5 cm x16.5, the dividers are slightly smaller. I thought that this is a good in between size...
As you know I am attending Shimelles 'Pretty Paper Party....sadly to say it is almost over, I must admit that enjoyed receiving her prompts and her course was such an inspiration ,and it egged me on to think out of my little box!!
A quick note before I log off....I  have space for one or two more ladies at my flower and at my Christmas workshops, join us if you like, we have fun!
Lots of Love.
Zeffy

Why I Scrap

Hi there Scrapbookers.
It has been a hectic week since I last posted!
On Saturday we had a crop here in Athens and we had a record number of 30 ladies attending. I taught the girls how to make a couple of flowers...which we then added to our L.O.s.
Irini in turn encouraged the girls, and help those that needed her guidance to create a L.O. using the sketch from Once Upon A Sketch The journaling this time around focuses on why we scrap?

I chose this rather malancholic photo of myself and my 2 eldest children, that I found at my FIL house this summer. I know neither where nor when it was taken....I also do not know why we look so fed up!
You see I never scrapped back then ,so I do not remember...this is why I am frantically telling my family's story now.
I used things from the kit that was provided at the crop...The little yellow flower was hand-made by Irini...I just love it!! Thanks Irini...oh yes I also bummed the brad off  Irini...thanks doll!
The bird and the question mark, as well as the alphas were from my stash.
As You can see I Glimmer Misted the page...and I need tips as to how we can get rid of the warping...I have ironed L.Os in the past.
I hope that you all have a great week.
Love.
Zeffy.

Monday MADNESS!!

Hi my Firends...
A quick share as to how my desk and surrounding areas look.....CHAOS!!!
You all know that  the Greek scrappers are having a crop on Saturday the 5th of November. My friend Irini from Get Creative Irini asked me to give the girls a lesson on making flowers.
Here is a sneak peek of the goodies that we will be playing with...plus a picture of the prize That I will be donating to a lucky lady!

My desk looks like this......almost at the end of my Pink Mini...celebrating life for Breast Cancer Month....I will be teaching this mini on the Saturday after the crop....still a place for a couple of ladies.

The last photo is that of a kit that I will be giving away by a lucky draw at the beginning of December,each time you have attended a workshop of mine, during October ,November and December your name will be entered into the draw....I will do the draw during my last workshop in December.

I am sure that I will add a thing ot two into the kit still...it will almost be Christmas, after all.
For more details contact me,or speak to me at the crop....remeber space is limited so first come first served....
Bye, off to pack the kits and get my mini completed before October officially ends!
Be Happy.
Zeffy

Made with a lot of Inspiration

Hi there fellow Scrappers.
I do believe that our work is greatly influenced by what we see around us. Well at least mine is, and this card is an example of many influences.
Firstly you all know that I am following Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party .....and last friday as I was reading prompt 5 I decided to make something with her sketch, then last week-end I was reading Heart2Craft's blog and Voulla wanted us to make something with a Sparkle!

I used scraps, once again, from last years Christmas projects...I heat embossed the Merry Christmas on a piece of cardstock that I had glittered up last year I can't remember what I had done to it! And made the Poinsettia,which by the way is dry Embossed too....
So needless to say sweet Marie from Get Creative also had something to do with this card.
We can thus safely assume that the cyber world greatly influences our world and our way of our thinking!
Have Fun
Zeffy.
P.S. spot the chocolate wrapping under the sentiment.....

Summer Love

Hi there Friends.
Last night I made this L.O. on my USTREAM show called Zeffy Scraps I  used the sketch from My Creative Scrapbook and will also enter this L.O  in their challenge this month.

I have been following Shimelle Laine's online classes "Pretty Paper Party" this past week and so I have used a couple of her tips on this L.O.

I used this photo that my hubby took of us on the ferry in summer,and I selected some of my scraps, a piece of Pink Paislee paper, the one with the numbers on it, and a slither of Kaiser Crafts paper and then I broke into my Echo Park Victoria Gardens kit. I also received my Pink Paislee Nantucket stamp set yesterday and I just Love love it!!

I used the anchor to make an embellishment,and you can spot the shells and seahorse too.

To make the border around the page I machine a 1cm border and then I carefully inked it with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink.

I have also made a card with scraps lying around my desk...I will show you that tomorrow as I altered the card a little tonight so I have to re-photograph it tomorrow.

keep well.

Love Zeffy.

Saturday Morning

Good morning Lovely People.
I hope that this is the start of a fantastic week-end. I have not done a lot os scrapping nor blog-hopping this past week,I think the general socio-economic climate is getting me down.
The only thing that I can show you this week is this card that I made on my show Zeffy Scraps.
 I used Irini's sketch from the
#8 card challenge on Get Creative I must as is.
I used some striped paper from the Echo Park "Be Mine "collection and we will see what Simin Says Stamp and Show has to say about this card.

I hope that you all have a peaceful week-end.
Love Zeffy.

Together

Hi once again My Scrapbooking Friends.
As you must have heard me mention earlier this month, MDH and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.
This is a L.O I made with a photo that we took ourselves on the shores of Loch Melfort one rainy morning ( there were many rainy mornings) in August. The flowers  and garden theme continue, because just 500 metres away were the famous Arduaine Gardens that were tucked away behind rows of tall trees and hedges to protect the gardens from the fierce North winds....
I used have once again used things from thePrima, Romantique kit that Lena from Enjoy Scrapping.has put together.

I fussy cut around  the border of the paper ,coloured the frame that was created. I then painted a border on a piece of cardstock, glued down the piece that I cut out and then stitched a border around it.
I once again used elements that I cut out from the "Ha'Penny "sheet of prima Paper. I used a little piece of Prima packaging,can you spot it?  The 2 shells are from the collection of shells that we picked up on the shores of Scotland.
You will notice that I cut the lace from the kit into thinner strips so that it was not so overwhelming. I have also stripped some of the cardstock die-cuts off their thick backing so that they can blend into the background a lot easier, and two of the little flowers are hand made by me. There is also a secret tab behind the photo with some journalling.
As you all know, I much prefer chocolate than getting wet, that is why I loved the little saying Cocoa and Chocolate...needless to say I had a cup'o tea and a chocie while I was drying off at the hotel!

I have not entered a L.O. for the Bird id the Word challenge blog for ages ,the word is 'Together" this week .
 I love and leave you...need to get on with my house-work and then get organised for my show on
Zeffy Scraps this evening at 22H00....We will be making a birthday card for my sister Vickie.
Love.
Zeffy
P.S I may add the little video I took of the Arduaine Gardens later today, it is a bit shaky as I was walking and filming.....but the gardens were stunning and out of this world!

A couple of things about me....

My friend Efi awarded me a blog award and asked me to tell you 7 things about me.
First and foremost I believe strongly and trust that Christ  guides and enlightens me and I am thankful for the many blessings that I have received.
I always try and keep my word, and  belive in the word "comit"
I  believe that "PLEASE" and "THANK-YOU"  are important words that are not used of often enough in our community.
I love trees, big, tall,old trees, my heart breaks when we burn them down! I love the sea, I feel as if flows in my veins. I love owls.
I hate woman that moan and complain all the time!
I believe in getting my hands dirty and getting the job (any task) done...
I cannot live without chocolate and lastly I hate chain letters....so Efi I am very sorry, and please do not be offended, but I will not continue this thread......
I have not done much scrapping this week....hopefully I will have something to show you in the next day or two.
Remeber that I am  streaming tomorrow night on Zeffy Scraps at 22H00...

Owl bid you goodnight.
Zeffy

Miss Arts Papercrafting School. A review.

As most of you know I have been following classes at Miss Art's Papercrafting School since about June..
When I signed up, to go back to school I thought "Ok I will learn a thing or two".....Not for a moment did I think that these lessons would influence my way of scrapping  so much. If you look back at my last say dozen L.O.s you will spot all the little tips and techniques that I have learned along the way. The lessons have made me more confident and sub-conscienctiouly I use what I have learnt.

When asked to do this review, I was in a little bit of a dilemma as to which lesson to review as I have so many favourites. So I asked myself which lessons impacted on me the most ? I decided on 3 and from those 3 favourites I chose "LAYERED LAYOUTS" by Julie Winks

I think that Julie should be named the Queen of Layering!  As I reviewed her lesson I kept count of all the layers that she used on one single L.O. I counted 24!!! That does not include the 4 layers that were placed under the corners and sides of the L.O.

I was awed and amazed by Julie's use of elements and by the generous way she used the keys on the L.O. she must be every manufacturers' dream!
Julie's lessons were clear and concise and she shared many special tips with us, I especially loved the lovely blossom detail using texture paste, it reminded me of embroidery ( I have subsequently embroidered on a page) and also her un-picked stitching ( still need to do that, I am a bit of a neat freak!) Julies' double bunting was really cool as was her tip on how easy it is to cut a bunting. I also especially loved the striped paper peeking out from under all the amazing things that were happening on the page.

Julie you challange me to keep going and to keep building up on a strong foundation,very much like life...

I was also asked to state a couple of things that I would still like to see happening at Miss Art's Papercrafting School
* I would love to see a date on posts especially on the news section.
* I would love a forum to meet and chat to other students, a  playground as such.
* A gallery that we can show and see some of the school projects.
* Maybe the guest teacher on USTREAM can be working on a tiny project, it would work as an ice-breaker and it would instigate more conversation.
* Maybe, just maybe and extra lesson in the 201 section???

Thank-you Miss Art's for such versatile lessons, for encouraging us to expand our horizons and go the extra mile.
For scrappers out there that have just started with this amazing hobby, sign up...buy the kits and Miss Arts will show you how to make amazing things with them!

Be happy, keep scrapping.
Zeffy.

I am Zeffy and I LOVE 2 Scrap!!

Hi there Scrap Gals!!
I hope that you all have had an amazing week-end....I know that I did!
I have another L.O. to show you that I made with the Prima Romantique kit from Enjoy Scrapping.
I had fun with this one I used a baby photo of me and went for the a shabby chic feel.
I used the "Estella" that I misted using a Prima mask I loved the way it almost made a frame aroung the page.

I matted the photo using a paper doilie and a pice of cardboard packaging as well as 2 squares  from the 'Ha'Penny" page. I used the little block of music to cut a  little top note with my Nestabilities as well as 3 tiny flowers and the slither that was left I used on my mat .Amazing how far one can stretch a tiny piece of paper! I altered the red rose a little.  If you notice on the bottom of the page I have a button, I  tried the flocked rub-ons on the button and then I inked it with alcohol , makes an interesting embellie don't you think?

I wish you all a fantastic week...

Lots of Love.

Zeffy

Paints and Mists

Hi there Gals.
 I firstly want to apologise to my viewers  for cancelling the Wednesday night show of Zeffy Scraps on USTREAM, but I was suddenly taken ill.....I am much better today.
So much better that I took up Eleni's challenge on Get Creative  and made a card for my nephew Antreas who is turning a double digit 10 today!

I used mist and paint and my sewing machine....ect. ect. Check the video at the end of the post for the details....check out my custom made tissue tape...it rocks!

Here is the video

Take care...pop in to check out the rest of my Prima Romantique L.Os
Have a good week-end!
Zeffy

Prima "Romantique"

Hi there Creative Ladies,
I hope that you all had a super dooper creative day yesterday.....I had fun with my fiends...lots of chatting and lots of cake and a little scrapping...
I have  some news for  today. Lena from Enjoy Scrapping asked me to be a Guest Designer and make some projects from the lovely Prima "Romantique" Kit that she has put together.
I have planned numerous projects for this kit,  and here is my first L.O.

I used the paper called "Orchard" and in order to try and make the border pop a little I decided to embroider some detail on the roses. So I used  pink embroidery floss and added a knot stitch to each flower. I also addded some detail to the bark of the tree using  wool that I inked.
The background behind the photo is from the "The Courts " sheet of paper.
This kit has a lot of alphas in it, so I have to find ways to use them!!
Anyway I mounted the block alphas on some acetate and mounted it on pop dots so  that the title almost floats

 Little Ellie has just found the key to the Secret Garden. I cut the keyhole using my Tim Holtz Alterations dies. And the little flower is cut  from the Tattered Florals die, using the paper that I removed from the hole in the page , I also used that for the punched border. The tulle, Monarch butterfly and scrap of green ribbon are from my stash.

My next L.O. is almost ready.....I mean I have planned it, I want to do some misting and stamping so I will most probably finish the L.O. off on USTREAM late this afternoon if we stay at home or on Monday if we decide to go out.

I hope that you all have a blessed Sunday.

And as they say in Greece "Ta Leme"

Love Zeffy



National Scrapbooking Day

Hi there Scrapbookers and Cardmakers.
I hope you all have a very vey creative day today! I know that I will, as I am having a some of my Scrap-Buddies over for a crop this afternoon.
I made this card late on Friday night....I used a chipboard die-cut from the  Prima "Romantique" collection, I loved it as I saw it, so I decided to make a card for my DH who is away at the moment..I also used Tim Holtz"s vintage car, this is from a special stamp set that was a special edition...it consists of small stamps for ATCs.

In case you were wondering...the paper with the clock is the Prima packaging from the die-cuts set....yes and cars have a special meaning in our relationship,(mine and Pano's) as we spent many hours chatting in the car when our affair first started....many,many years ago.....
Keep posted for more news.
Love.
Zeffy

Share

Hi there lovely ladies...
Today I want to share with you a L.O that I made with one of my favourite photo from our summer vacation, it does not look like summer,no, we were in rainy Scotland, that is why.
I used the word share in my title so that I can enter the L.O. for the Bird is the Word challenge and I used the September 15th sketch from Once Upon A Sketch

I used Websters Pages from Country Estate and I did not choose the design according to the names! my background paper is called "Calm Moments"  and I cut out the flower from the beautiful "Flower Breeze"

The clock screams Tim Holtz...love the man!  And the birdie in the next page is also from a sheet of Websters Pages,can't remember which one he came from, he has been cut out for ages now!
Love and leave you...
Will be busy on lots of new projects look out for streaming on Zeffy Scraps I will be "live" this afternoon at 16H30 GMT+2

Remember to ask about my workshops!
Zeffy

A perfect Grand-Father.

Hi there all you fantastic Ladies.
I hope that you all had a very relaxing Sunday, I had a long nap this afternoon and now I am still awake, it is 2am!
I wanted to share with you a L.O. I made on Saturday on my live show Zeffy Scraps with a precious old photo that I found at my FIL house this summer.
I had a giggle when I saw this photo, it must have been taken by my MIL in 1990...Faye and Michael are giving my precious FIL a run for his money, combing and curling the precious little hair he  has on his head.....he is sitting very patiently....love it!!!
If you look carefully the "hair styling kit"is called MISS LIL so I decided I had to use the sketch from Sassy Lil Sketches. I only had one photo so I had to switch up the sketch a lil....hope you like what I did.

I used the July main kit from My Creative Scrapbooking ,the papers are Echo Park 'Life is Good" the background paper is called 'Brown Floral" my photo mat is called " Seeing Spots" and  I have used a sheet of  Crate paper from"Emma's Shoppe Collection",that is the floral and the yellow check, oh by the way the little pink diamonds are ancient they are Basic Grey...

As you can see in the video I have machine stitched my border as well as some trimmings.

That is all for now...keep a look out on USTREAM as I will be streaming more often during the day this next week....but being Greek I can't commit to a day and time at 02H28!

Nighty night...

Zeffy

TIME FLIES!

Hi there Ladies.
Tomorrow we begin the last quarter of this year! Can you believe it? Where has time gone??
I have returned home and have spent the whole week sorting my life out...Including technical problems around the house.
I have also finalised my programme for the  workshops that I will be hosting in October and November... please e-mail me, more details, for should you be interested.
Yesterday I got down to some fun!! I have not done a challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show for ages and this week they wanted us to show them some ATCs Atrist Trading Cards....

I have never, ever made any ATCs and once I started I could not stop!....My theme was Time Flies and rather egocentric!!

I used some scraps from my Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutantes papers and these ATC will be stored in my Hope Album/Journal...I am hoping to make a video of that real soon!

I will be getting back to my USTREAM  shows in the course of next week, I will be posting my schedule on Zeffy Scraps this week-end. So keep a look out, and I may even do an Impromptu streaming tomorrow!!

Lots of Love....

Zeffy.

PS. Time to get thinking about Christmas!!

xxx

The end of our summer vacation

Hi there girls.
 I hope that you are all well, and that your little ones are all back to school and life is slowly returning to normal.
This will be a short post as I have to go and pack my belongings because I too will soon be returning to the hot and crowded Athens!
This is a  photo of Raphaella taken ages ago , when she used to spend  whole afternoons in the swimming pool! I used to call her my Fish.
I made this L.O. according to the sketch from My Creative Sketches and I used Basic Grey papers "Sweet Thread" from the October Main kit.

I used re-cycled corrugated board that I gessoed and misted for the frame, I tried to capture the feeling of water with my white acrylic paint ...and the rest speaks for itself...
Lots of love from Lesvos.
Zeffy

Two Special Grannies

Hi there.
As I mentioned in my previous post,I have found a pile of lovely photos to scrap at my FIL home...
Raphaella and I are still here,taking it easy and I have been doing a little bit of scrapping in my make-shift  set-up.
Last week I decided to do a L.O. with this photo of Raphaella and her two Grannies preparing her for Baptism. I was thrilled when I found this photo because this is one of the last times we photographed my Mom before her death a couple of months later.She is holding up Raphaella whilst my MIL is preparing the new clothes she will be dressed in after her baptism.One is fully submerged into water at a Greek Orthodox baptism.

I put this L.O.together on Zeffy Scraps my USTREAM show  this past Thursday, I followed the sketch from Sassy Lil'Sketches although I must admit I substituted the bunting for the scalloped die-cut and the butterfly!I also substited the rub-on journalling for the other photo. The piece of patterned paper behind the photo mat  is acually a hidden tag for private journalling.

My background paper is Prima "Pastiche" the scroll is also Prima, but the journalling spot under the flowers is from Crate Papers. I have added some diamond Stickles on the butterflies and the a couple of dots on the top corner.
 I am making some altered Domino pieces that I hope to show you soon, I leave you all with good wishes for a pleasant week-end.
Love.
Zeffy

Join me on USTREAM

Hi there once again.
A quick post to tell you that I will be streaming tomorrow morning(Thursday the 8th) at 11H00 GMT+2 on Zeffy Scraps I will be making a L.O. with some Prima products and an old emotional photo I found here at my Father-in -law's home.

I would also like to share a quick card that I made for a wedding on Saturday, it was inspired by the talented ladies on Get Creative who challenged us to make a card with some lace.
Chat later.
Love Zeffy

Memories of 1984

Hi there my Scrapbooking Gals!
It has been ages since my last post. I have not done much scrapping this past month.
What I did do though was spend quality time with familyand friends. Eating, swimming and chatting. I have also found a stack of lovely  photos to scrap, here at my Father-in-law's home.
Yesterday I decided to tuck in and do some internet surfing and then  some scrapbooking.

I loved this photo that I found, it is of my daughter Faye on her first birthday sitting on her Great-grand-mother's lap, adorable!

Seeing that I have been out of action for so long I decided to tackle some challenges....this L.O. will be entered into 3....
Bird is the Word .....with the word "memory"
Once upon A Sketch....... Nadia I stretched your sketch a little, and the year was 1984!
Get Creative.......use a frame on a L.O.

The papers I used are Crate Papers "Portrait Collection" the frame is from the die-cuts, I have just coloured it a little, as I did with the Prima journaling spot can you see it? The birds and butterfly are from Pink Paislee "Butterfly Garden"
That is all for now, hopefully I will get back into USTREAMING by the end of this week.
Enjoy your last swims, lots of love.
Zeffy