A layout I'm loving!

I THINK I'm starting to turn a corner with this horrid virus and tonsillitis - hurrah!  I've also managed to get a few layouts completed in the last few days, including some of my Christmas journal - hurrah again.

First up is a layout that I did with Paula at a crop class.  Its a photo of me and my baby boy L, taken at a wedding when he was only just over a year old.  I love the candid shot which caught us both smiling madly at something.

The photo is not quite as dark in real life although I am definitely in the shadows a bit (which suits me!)  I covered a chipboard butterfly with old music paper and I cut some of the branding strip from some Webster's Pages stickers for the side (thanks to Emma Trout for that idea).  It says "Your life. Beautiful."

I lost a wooden flower somehow when I had put it up at the crop hence the non matching gems but I kind of like this bit.  There is a little brown heart from an Amy Tangerine stamp set that sets "You Rock" and I've continued the aqua with the little heart there too.

The infamous camera from the same Amy Tangerine stamp set which I coloured with promarker and then added Glossy Accents too.  The papers are Prima and American Crafts and the background is, um, OLD.

This is the only LO that I've finished on the night of the class (other than the gems) and I'm really pleased with it.  I love the way it came together and for once I am happy with the colours and how they all work despite being from different manufacturers.

I feel like I am getting back into the swing of things a bit more now and I will be so happy once I have my energy back.  Apparently Spring is on its way and we will have warmer temperatures and more sun which can only help I reckon.  Here's to the Spring!

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 141 - more bleurgh :-(

I decided to join in at the last minute because I had been playing in my craft room and wanted to share other people's spaces too (and pop in and 'see' Julia), and I needed a rest.  I've been feeling poorly for nearly 4 weeks now so I went to the docs yesterday as I thought the virus was also tonsillitis and I was right.  With suitable powerful meds, I'm hoping for a recovery in time for my crop class and my day crop on Saturday because its been AGES since I last attended.

My desk is a mess in preparation for these events but I also just wanted to actually complete something, just for me.  Many months ago I did the Creative Stash Diving prompt from Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party class and made quite a few layouts to their first stage.  They need titles, journalling and embellishing so I pulled those out, chose one, and I've part way through it.  The others are scattered around with my on-going Smash book, some paint samples, and a very cold cup of tea.  I wouldn't ever have a drink on the table if anyone else was working with me but its my work I would spoil so I don't worry too much.  I was at a class once where a can of coke went over someone else's work and destroyed the last segments of the papers that were needed to complete a layout.  It was a very uncomfortable situation and I'm glad it didn't involve me!

Its half term here but B is at nursery and Management is off so the boys are watching The Empire Strikes Back while I rest on the sofa.  They've had a busy morning of fixing stuff and doing "blue" jobs and as a special treat, L got a burger from the awful van at B&Q like the "real workmen" do.  I pretended I wasn't allowing them to have one and that I would cross if they had a burger in secret and L was beside himself with excitement at a big boys outing and a secret from Mummy!  We've all been so poorly and jaded for the last few months that it is good to see him really giggle.  I love half term!

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 138

I almost didn't play today but Wednesday wouldn't be Wednesday without snooping around other people's desks now would it.  I don't think Julia realised what a monster she would be breeding when she first had the idea 138 weeks ago but I'm so glad she did and now having met her and Lunch Lady Jan, I am even more glad that she did - oh how we did chuckle and stroke many fabrics..  So I will shortly be going back to bed as I feel so absolutely lousy with a horrid sore throat and cold.  Wednesday is my day for WOYWW (obviously) but also my housework but I am banned from hoovering and ironing at the moment because of my shoulder (hurrah!) so if I get some energy later then I will spend some time in my craft room - it misses me, I know it.  It calls to me when I am at the gym or on the school run or just in another room helping someone with a puzzle or dressing a dolly or being made pretend cakes and cups of tea (oh how I wish I could have endless calorie free cake and tea!!)

Centre stage we have a half finished layout from the crop class last week.  As you can see, no strawberries.  I changed my mind at the last minute.  And then of course I paid the price because in my haste I didn't check the colours properly and I'm not sure it works.  The Christmas Journal at the back there - its this weekend or it gets filed away.  And then in the corner is Cath Kidston book "Sew!"  Meeting Jan last week rekindled my fabric love and she has inspired me to get my sewing machine out and have a play.  That's what I love about WOYWW, you might be inspired by a technique, a colour scheme, a piece of paper or fabric, a storage solution, or you might laugh at someone's teetering tottering piles, be awe inspired by someone's organised and tidy space, scream in horror or nod in agreement at un-cleaned stamps.  Whatever makes you go "ooh" you are sure to find something around these desks to put a little twinkle in your eye.  Tell me what you've found, what makes you have a snoop each week, what have you learned?  Don't keep it to yourself, share.  Because "Sharing is Caring".

And with that, dear people, I leave you.  I am taking Scrap365 and a cup of tea up to my bed.

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 137

A flying visit from me this morning as I am being "a lady what lunches" with some VIP guests.

I'm preparing for a crop class tomorrow night and faffing about changing my mind as usual.  I've gone with some pictures from the summer (I'm hoping the cheery pics will rub off on me!) and I knew immediately which papers to go to but I also knew that I had completed a layout many moons ago about the same thing with the same papers.  When I looked at it (that's the page that's open in the album there) I realised it was from 2008 and so it didn't matter how similar it was.  However the layout itself will be quite different and I've decided to go with kraft card as the background (when in doubt, use kraft...).  Paula who runs the class, has done a single page but I think I will do a mirror image as a double as I have a few pics from that day that I want to use.  I love spending time with crafty friends and we always turn out something individual to ourselves and use styles and ideas that we wouldn't normally use.

Something else which is something I wouldn't normally do, is a Pass the Page.  I can't for the life of me remember how I got involved in this thing in the first place but there are about 10 of us revealing our layouts in a blog hop on 20th and I found out yesterday that there are going to be some prizes.  I'm looking forward to the reveal on this one as the subject is my friend's little miracle baby.  I just need to take a better picture of the layout but of course now I want to do that, the weather has turned from f-f-f-freezing but sunny and clear to drizzly, grey and dark.  Pah!

What's on your workdesk today?  Is it tidy or messy?  Whatever it is, let us have a look see and link up to the lovely Julia (who just may be wearing a flower in her hair today).

Bye for now
xx