De-clutter is the new black

This year I have been in a serious de-clutter mode - items that have been hidden in the closets and which have not been used/touched for the last twelve months all went to the charity shop or in the tip. Clothes that became too large for me (but which I kept, just in case...) all went finally.

I am looking at totally re-vamping our flat with new furniture, after ten years of the same crap I need a new breath and after Lyndon redecorated the front room last summer it is time to get to Ikea and get serious...

But before we start on the furniture we need to de-clutter more (quite amazing to thing just how much sh*t you can actually store in a 2 bedroom flat....) and I started on my Scrapbook layouts over the weekend.So far I killed off about 50 layouts and there are many more to come. Now, don't hyperventilate just yet at the thought that I would easily chuck pictures and product away like that. There are just so many layouts that did not tell a story; they were done for challenges; DT assignments (dating back as far as 2004!!!); etc etc...it was time they went.

So, I pulled all those old photographs off and started again - deciding if a particular picture is actually worth to scrap about or if I just used it previously to fit a challenge. During that process I also decided that I am now scrapping in a totally different size 8.5 x 6. Yep, that is my new love and it fits my style perfectly well - most of the time I have one picture, title and very little journaling so the smaller size makes the layout fit so much better. And the best thing is that I now have no more issues with storing my albums as the A5 sized ones fit neatly on my narrow bookshelfs.

But I will still continue to scrap in 8.5 x 11, 6 x 12 and 12 x 12 when the mood takes me, but overall I think A5 will become my signature size.

** click on image to enlarge view **

Ingredients:
Cardstock: Papermill
Papers: Cosmo Cricket; Sassafras Lass; My Minds Eye; Making Memories
Embellishments: Flowers - Bazzill, Fancy Pants; Pearls - Papercellar; Brads - Upsy Daisy Designs; Stickers - Making Memories; Alpha Chipboard - American Crafts
Other: Journaling Pens; Glimmer Mist; Cosmic Shimmer; Edge distresser, Tracing wheel - Making Memories


I also managed to squeeze a quick card out just in time for the recent challenge at {{ the Townscrapper }}. The thought behind this particular challenge warmed my heart and I just wish I would have been able to finish this quicker to give this worthy challenge a wee bit more coverage....

Anyhoo - the scoop was to include some form of puzzle theme on your project. I downloaded the free puzzle template and printed this onto some cardstock,which I attacked with alcohol inks and my beloved {{ Cosmic Shimmer }}. After it tried I outlined some of the random dots and arranged two pieces onto the front of the card. The sentiment for the card challenged me a lot and I am not 100% sure with it, but it stays....guess it probably showcases just how puzzled I was...LOL

The {{ Sunny Rays }} image is a digi stamp from {{ Some Odd Girl }} and I found it to be a perfect fit.

** click on any of the images for enlarged views **

Ingredients:
Cardstock: Papermill; Hero Arts; Bazzill Bling
Tools: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Swiss Dots; Scallop Scissors; Promarkers; 
Other: Journaling pens; Cosmic Shimmer; Alcohol Inks

Now excuse me while I plough through 8  more albums of old layouts and decide which ones need re-scrapping :)