One from the weekend

I have a number of layouts to share from the Scrapbook Getaways retreat and I thought I would start with this simple one using October Afternoon's 5 and Dime collection.  There is no journalling because it is part of a series from a mini photo shoot I did at Beaulieu in September.  This particular photo was taken inside a grass hut in the Victorian gardens, hence the darkness, but the children loved it inside there and insisted on having their picture taken.  (Special thanks here to Jaki Morris who sent me that gorgeous twine which is a perfect thickness).

So, having said there is no journalling, and having explained it a bit, I now feel I need to add some journalling!  I think I will jot a little note opposite the lower pinwheels.  I think Shimelle's Cover to Cover class is rubbing off on me!  (More on that in a forthcoming post).


We were away this weekend at the Out-laws so they could look after the children while we went to watch a rugby match.  It was for Management's birthday, very late as we couldn't get to any other matches.  Sadly Northampton Saints lost in the final few minutes but we had great seats and could clearly see ourselves on the TV when we watched it back.  Management was also interviewed just before the match but we still don't know who it was for!  All this reminds me that I still haven't scrapped our rugby tour adventures from last year... another "gap" to add to add to the list (for those doing Cover to Cover)!


Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 103

Yikes I'm still in such a fug after Scrap-a-Mia (and being in Wales for the rugby but we won't talk about that :-( )!  I did manage to have a bit of a sort out so I could see what needed doing.  So now I have a pile for each of the unfinished projects as well as a pile of things to put away including all my lovely stash that I got while I was there.  Also this morning there were a couple of sheets of card where I have been testing my inks... and I blame Dina Wakley entirely for this new obsession!

The next project to complete is that large H with all the twiddly bits on but firstly I decided to start with the thing that needed the least work to complete it which was Dina's canvas mini-album.  This was our first class of the retreat and it was WAAAAY out of my comfort zone, which is part of the point of these things for me.

 Many months ago I decided to give misting a go and did it outside like I was advised.  Of course, me being me, didn't check what the wind was doing and so it blew back in my face and made me look like I had a hideous disease.  And then of course, a couple of weeks ago, there was this messy layout which I'm still not sure about.  To start with a class that was all about misting and paint flicking was really throwing me in the deep end!  Dina was brilliant though and guided me through getting inky and messy.  And you know what, I had fun!

 My hands were grim by the end of it but Dina calls them happy hands and she was right.  We used a mask that we cut from good old paper which made me think of misting as being a bit more accessible.  Then we let loose with Dina's masks and we were all just blown away by the results.  Sometimes we'd be a bit "hhmm I dunno" and she would come past and say "oh wow!" or "so cool" and we started to realise that this was just the beginning.

 The more bits we added, the more fabby it looked.  We had little silver die-cut crowns, journalling labels, stick pins, crown stamps, dress making paper, ribbon, and our photos obviously.

 We used the mists to make the backgrounds so sometimes you get only a sneak peek, and we dyed the lace for the ties with the mists as well so they looked grungy and shabby - I did grungy, well who knew?!  Imagine how stunned and how pleased I was when she held up my little book to show how I had arranged something!  Seriously, I fell in love with inks and canvas so much that I have since bought several more!

I still need to do the journalling (just trying to find the right words) but this morning was all about getting messy with paint splats.  Oh how I wish Dina was here to old my hand today!  I decided just to do it on the cover in the end.  I used the wrist flick method and the toothbrush method.  Naturally I got more on me than on the mini-book but hey, its about the art right?

And here is where I did it all, the rickety wooden table outside my craft room.  I didn't bother to clean the table afterwards and I have decided to let it show off my arty antics.  We will see how it progresses!

Thanks for looking at my craft space today.  Want to see more?  Head over to Julia's blog for a full list of other desks you can have a nosy at.  I hope to visit lots today as B is at nursery for the first time...

Bye for now xx

What's on your workdesk Wednesday 102

Yikes, time is marching on so fast right now!  I had such a great time at Scrap-a-Mia but I have yet to try and even sort through all the half finished projects.  I'm still catching up on life and organising a 5th birthday party and planning our day trip to Wales for the rugby at the weekend.

So basically that big pile in the middle and off to the right is all stuff from the weekend.  On the corner and just in front of the black bag are the layouts from Emma Trout's class (almost finished) and most of the pile in the middle is the barely started 3D project from MJM.  I'll probably do that last as it is going to be a labour of love and I need to work up to it!

Right back to those party invitations....

Don't forget to check out all the other crafty desks at Julia's Stamping Ground.

Bye for now xx

He's still "The One"..

Is it Thursday already?  I can't tell after the crazy bank holidays we've had recently.  We had a very busy weekend with the Royal Wedding and another fabulous rugby match to go to.  I love my children to bits but I do love to spend a little time now and again with just Management.  We've been together nearly 19 years and he is my world.  When we got married, our first dance was to Shania Twain's "You're still the one" as it was just perfect for us.  People didn't think we would last and we took a lot of criticism from all sides about moving in together so quickly (about 2-3 months!), me being a mere 18 at the time, different backgrounds, etc.  Every time I hear that song, with all we have gone through, it becomes more and more relevant and it makes me get all misty eyed just thinking about it.

A photo of my wonderful husband is quite rare so I wanted to do justice to these 2 shots taken last year in Wales.  I used mostly new supplies but I wish I had waited for the other papers in the Circa 1934 range by Cosmo Cricket as it didn't gel as well as I hoped without them.  I used the borders page to choose my colours but ended up not using any of the pieces that showed all the colours anyway!

I chose the script paper to show his intelligence which I greatly admire, and the little mathematical symbol on the right is a chance occurrence that aptly nods to his job.  He is a fan of ginger beer, pretty much the closest he gets to anything alcoholic these days, so that was a good choice of card.  The little gecko is a reminder of our travels and a symbol I try to find on things for him.  We know our car in the car parks as we have a gecko in the front window :-)

For this layout I used another of Shimelle's Sketch of the Week ideas but I ended up with more of a pyramid as I didn't keep to the left enough.  Hopefully you can't see the couple of errors I made though.

And here is a little sneak of that layout that my son thought was messy....

I'll show it in full tomorrow.  Till then, happy crafting.

Bye for now xx

When the Saints go marching in.

Last weekend we went to my in-laws In Northamptonshire.  We went to a Micheline starred restaurant on Saturday night called The Nut Tree and then went to watch a rugby match on the Sunday.

We haven't been to a match since the children were born and we both really miss it, particularly DH who doesn't have any other hobbies.  I decided to surprise him with tickets for his birthday when his team reached the quarter finals of the European Cup.  They were playing not far from where his parents live and so I tapped them up to babysit for the day.  Everything seemed to be going well until I couldn't get tickets!  I ended up having to pay through the nose for hospitality tickets but it was a special ocassion and something quite different for us.

I was so annoyed when the visiting team, Ulster from Northern Ireland, sent back over 1500 normal tickets and we could have had a normal seat after all.  Some people find it really strange that opposing fans can sit together in total harmony but that's just how it is with rugby union.  Obviously there is some friendly banter but its all really good natured.

The meal was really nice and we had a good crowd on our table, some Ulster and some Saints so it was a good laugh.  The stadium was in Milton Keynes, home of the MK Dons football team and they'd never hosted a rugby match before.  They ran out of beer way before the match started and just couldn't get their heads around not having to segregate the fans which is unheard of during football matches.

It was a reasonably close match and I was hoarse within about half an hour of kick off.  It was so good to be at a live match again, I hadn't realised how much I had missed it.  Thankfully the Saints came home 10 points clear so it was a great day for DH's birthday treat.

Now we're desperately trying to get hold of tickets to the semi finals but its like getting tickets to Take That!  We sure have got the rugby bug again!  Of course I will be scrapping the event but I feel I may be rather limited in my colour scheme ;-)

Bye for now