I have moved...

Please find my new online home at www.lisaswift.co.uk.

(All my posts have moved with me too.)

Lisa x

Just to let you know...

I am here. Just a little busy at the moment and enduring some free time with John whilst he is on holiday from work.

I am also working on a brand new blog. I have decided to move my blog back over to Wordpress. I have been busy designing and now John is helping me build it. After using blogger for a couple of years, I have decided that I want to do more with my blog and some of these things are much easier using Wordpress.

I will be back soon with lots of new content!

Lisa x

Dear Scrapbook (cont.)

Following my post this morning, I used some of this stored up inspiration to produce my first digital scrapbook layout.

Digi Products used:
Michelle Underwood's That Was Yesterday Add On

This layout took me about 30 minutes to put together and I loved it! Why have I never tried this before?

Lisa x

Dear Scrapbook...

I miss you!

Today I have a rare day off and for the last hour I have been visiting some blogs that I just don't usually have time to visit. These are blogs that I used to visit almost every week, gaining inspiration for my scrapbooking. Seeing new and exciting products on the market.

For the last 2 years, Altered Chic has been hugely time consuming. At first, working outside my normal day job. Then as we decided to open the shop, all my time was focused on creating new products, finding suppliers, planning new lines etc. etc.

My scrapbooks have hardly been touched in the last 18 months. In all honesty, I can say I have probably created less than 5 layouts in this time. Only 1 this year so far.


For a hobby that I love, for something that I want to leave for my children (one day), for something that I used to share with so many people (mostly online), I must do something to put this right.

Right now our upstairs is being completely overhauled. We are switching our rooms around to make our home work better for us. This currently leaves me without a craft room and all my supplies are in boxes.

Why do I always feel inspired when I'm unable to do anything about it?

Then I visited Ali Edwards blog. Again, someone who I used to use regularly to inspire projects and layouts. I found this post of her daughter's baby book (it is quite a long video but totally worth watching for inspiration). I love the way she mixes traditional scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking and collections of other memorabilia, and mixing up the sizes of her pages.

I've never seen the point of digital scrapbooking before. I have always been a traditional scrapbooker. This is kind of a 'duh!' moment for me because I design websites. I'm kind of a semi computer geek. I just never thought about actually printing out the digital layouts before. I have a very good quality A4 printer - this would be no problem for me. And some of the digital products out there are gorgeous! (Plus, cost effective!)

I will and always will love traditional scrapbooking. And as soon as I can get my supplies out of those boxes I will certainly be cutting up paper and making embellishments. But for now, whilst this just isn't possible, I'm going to invest some time in turning some of the hundreds of photographs I have into digital pages, ready to print out and place in my much loved albums.

Lisa x

New! Chalkboard Placemats & Coasters

Our chalkboard range is expanding again and this time with something a little different.


Our brand new chalkboard placemats and coasters are a great addition to the table. We've used the coasters as an alternative for a placecard and the placemat has been used to show the guests what is on the menu for dinner.

Why not leave your guest a little personalised message for them to see when they take their seat at the table. Or leave the chalk on the table for children (and adults) too doodle on the mats between courses.

The chalkboard placemats and coasters will be available shortly on our website and in store.

Lisa x

To John...

It has been seven years today since this boy asked me to be his girl. We've had adventures along the way but I can honestly say I am never happier than when I am with him.

This is for you...


Happy Anniversary
Love Lisa x

Getting ready for summer...

It's almost time for the summer holidays and the Altered Chic shop has a summery new seaside themed window display.





Are you going somewhere nice on your holidays?

Lisa x

Finding the time...

I actually managed to find some time last week to design and make some new products! These have been in my head for so long and it was so refreshing to make something new.

These pretty butterflies are a revamp of some I made last spring. Sold in sets of two, they are just little clips to make your day a little prettier.

These hearts are nothing new but I bought the lavender last summer and have only just found the time to use it! These simple lavender hearts smell gorgeous and are ideal for hanging on a coat hanger to make your clothes smell nice.

This week, I am trying to find the time to work on our Christmas lines. Yes, I am sat at work with the sun streaming through the window whilst thinking of holly, candy canes, snowflakes and icicles!

These products are currently available in our little shop in Chesterfield. I'll let you know when they will be available online.

Lisa x

Wedding Inspiration: Kate Moss

I'm not one who usually pays any attention to celebrity weddings. They are usually way too over the top. But what suprised me this morning whilst reading the news was the wedding of Kate Moss and Jamie Hince.

(Image courtesy of Mail Online.)

She looked absolutely stunning - so down to earth, pretty and natural. Just like I want at my wedding.

I'm not one of those people who love being the centre of attention. Our wedding will be about our family. Not just about about John and I getting hitched. I have ideas for a small and simple, handmade wedding and I want my dress to reflect this. I want to look pretty but natural and I think Kate Moss has achieved this so well. I only hope I can do the same on my tiny budget.

Lisa x

Photoshop Actions

I am in love with vintage style photographs!

I just had to get that statement out there. I love the look of photographs from the fifties, sixties and seventies. The grainy, over-contrasted and faded colours add such a whimsical look to photography. And I've been trying to create me own using photoshop actions.

Thanks to Lune Vintage, I found this fab lady who has made so many different actions and I've been playing around with some photos I took yesterday.

Edited using set 116 Soft Colours (creamy yellow).


Edited using set 123 - Retro (red orange).


Edited using set 134 - Colour Contrast (red fill).


Edited using 95 - Vintage (cream green/red fill).

What are your favourite actions?

Lisa x

I love the countryside

Sundays are our day off. After working the other 6 days we try to go out and give ourselves something to look forwards to.

Luckily for us, Chatsworth Estate is right on our doorstep, and it is such a pretty place to go walking.

Chatsworth House is undergoing work and is all covered up but there were so many other places to use my camera...


Lisa x

From the garden...

I love our delicate sweet peas -picked today.

Lisa x

Preloved: Wooden Chest

One of my latest projects for the shop was this wooden chest. We bought it a couple of years ago from a car boot sale. It has been sat in the spare room ever since as I just didn't know what to do with it.

With our planned decorating at home, there wouldn't be room for it and there was an empty space in the shop that was crying out for a piece of furniture.


I forgot to take a photo before I sanded it. It was horrible gloss green colour.

It is now a pretty off white colour and a great home for all the handmade cushions in the shop.

Lisa x

Take a look around...

I've been freshening up parts of my blog, slightly changing the header image, editing my pages and giving my sidebars a spring clean.

Check out my brand new Altered Chic banners. I would love it so much if you would consider adding one to your blog. Pretty please.

Lisa x

P.S. I'm working on lots of new content for the blog including inspirational posts, DIYs, a 'learn how to use my camera' series and lots more.

Race For Life

This morning I took part in Chesterfield's Race for Life with all the ladies from Arcade Crafts. I want to thank every single person who donated. We raised over £270 between us for Cancer Research UK!

I can't wait till next year

Lisa x

I don't like to beg but...

I'm taking part in the Chesterfield Race for Life on Sunday morning and I would love you if you would sponsor me and the ladies at Arcade Crafts (my previous day job).

Events like Race for Life are vital in funding Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.

There are people in both John's and my family who have had cancer. It is a horrible thing to happen to anyone and something that we really do need to fight.

I know that times are tough right now and I am not asking for a lot. Every single penny counts and I really do mean that.

Myself, Alison, Claire, Margaret, Lynda and Lou would all be so grateful if you could share even the smallest amount.

You can sponsor us online on our fundraising page, or contact me directly at info@alteredchic.co.uk.

Thank you!

Lisa x

If you love handmade...

As you all know I am a true lover of handmade (it may have something to do with the little shop I opened recently). I love trying out new crafts, browsing the blogs of crafty people and most of all collecting pretty magazines and books all about handmade.

This is why I may have squeeled a little when I saw the first copy of this magazine...



Mollie Makes is a fab new magazine which combines all my handmade loves into one monthly little package. It has crafty DIY's, features on handmade homes and craft studios and a free craft kit with each issue. We are only on issue two but I have already signed up for a subscription so as of July the postie will be dropping it through my door to make sure I don't miss out.

The free kit that came with issue two was this cute felt flower. I made the ribbon into a loop on the back and I'm adding a brooch pin so that I can attach it to whatever I want.



And if this hasn't tempted you, take a look at this video...



I suddenly want to move to Bath!

Lisa x

Would you believe it?

I actually did some scrapbooking today!

It has been months and months since my last LO but I was totally inspired by our challenge on ECP: Challenges.



Today is a photo challenge and I loved the use of colour in the picture. While planning my LO I just saw my stash of ribbons and kind of ran with it. It's not the best photo of a LO I have ever taken but I was rushing to add it to the challenge post.

Lisa x

If only...

... I could get John to agree to something like this on our wedding next year. This has to be the best wedding video I have ever seen!



Lisa x

We {Heart} It!

Our heart chalkboards are now available with satin white or satin cream ribbon. We still have our usual selection of gingham ribbons available if they are more to your liking.



The new satin ribbons will look perfect at a wedding or to be given as a wedding gift.

You can find them on our website or in store.

Lisa x

Redecoration

Now that I am working full time at the shop and most of my studio has moved to work, there is alot of free space at home. It is currently a huge mess upstairs but this year I plan to get it all organised starting with the bedroom.

We are going to move our bedroom to the larger front room which was previously used as the studio/office. We bought a dark wooden bed last year so our new colour scheme will need to work with dark furniture.

Here are a few examples I've found today...

I love the rich tones of this room, it gives it a luxorious feel.

This room feels so light and bright even though the bed is dark and quite overpowering.

This room is quite modern compared to the others. I love the crochet throw.

I love the muted background colour of this room.

This Safari styled room is so light and airy even with the dark furniture. The window is the new bedroom is North-facing meaning there is never much sunlight light so any colour scheme needs to be mostly quite light.

The photos I've found are all quite neutral in colour. I would love to find some examples with colour and dark furniture. If anyone knows of any, please share a link.

Lisa x

The Altered Chic Shop

Yes, the shop opened just over a week ago. I'm still moving things, finding new products and generally working down a to-do list as long as my arm but the shop is looking pretty (if I do say so myself) and I love that people are loving our products.

Here are a few photos to share...












As I said, I am still looking for more products to add to the shop, so if you are a designer/maker and you think your products would suit the ranges we already stock, or if you think there is something that is missing from the shop. Please get in touch at info@alteredchic.co.uk.

Lisa x

Well Hello!

As you can probably guess things have been super hectic around here the last month. We opened our little shop on Saturday and things are still pretty hectic making lots of new products and enjoying some well earned sleep! I will post much more about the shop and all it's new products over the new few weeks but in the meanwhile, you can find some photos on our Facebook page.

In other news, Deanne of Quirky Boots jazzed up our white letters with some pretty felt flowers and I knew I must share them with you all. Her felted products are so pretty - you must check them out.Lisa x

Opening Saturday 28th May

Hope to see you there!

Lisa x

Summertime Gardens

In the UK we've been enjoying some gorgeous weather over the last few weeks. Let's hope the weather continues to be nice without too many of the rain showers we've had today. So here are a few pictures whilst we dream of more summer days to laze in the sun...

(All photos coutesy of www.weheartit.com)

Enjoy the sun wherever you are!

Lisa x

Our Wedding: Save The Date

As promised, here are our Save The Date cards. We finally finished them last week and are sending them out this week to our family and close friends.



We printed them onto natural fibre card. They were then placed in a handmade envelope with vintage sheet music, lace and a button trim. Names were typed using my vintage typewriter.

We wont be sending out full invited till later this year or early spring but we wanted to share the news with those important people in our life.

Lisa x

A Bank Holiday Weekend

As well as busily making lots and lots of products ready for the shop opening, we managed to find some time to get out over the Easter weekend and enjoyed a lovely walk and picnic at Clumber Park.

One of our favourite parts of Clumber Park is the Kitchen Gardens. Full of lots of vegetables and trees in the most gorgeous of settings, it is such an inspiring place for any gardener.

The orchard full of blossom.

Even the drain covers in the greenhouse are pretty.

Rows of herbs and new trees line the centre path.

Looking through the stone arches.

I wish I had as many strawberry plants as there are here.

Looking up to the greenhouse from the main entrance.

Our garden is also coming along well with our tomato plants in the greenhouse and the beans, potatoes and shallots outside. I'll take some photos and write an update shortly.

Lisa x