WOYWW 274

Its been a while since I joined in with WOYWW dear readers but this Wednesday marks a very important part of our year - the children go back to school today!  I have such plans!!  Some of my plans for this week involve getting in my studio and making some stuff - woop woop!  Some of my plans involve getting my house back into some sort of order so that we are ready for house viewings at the weekend.  Our house sale fell through recently after waiting since April so we have to start all over again - meh.

So what is on my table of craft after such a long time?  Well...  Top left is my Learn Something New Everyday book that I am determined to put something in this year.  Its a class run by Shimelle every September and I made this book 3 years ago and never put anything in it.  2 years ago I changed the date on the front to start again and never put anything in it.  Last year I didn't even try.  I am keeping a record this year and trying to take daily photos so hopefully something will go in there at some point.

In the centre of the table I have some very exciting things!!  I was picked as a winner in a Cosmo Cricket giveaway on Facebook and within about 4 days I had a parcel arrive from America!  Inside was a wall sconce, 4 matching mason jar lids (I need wide necked jars now!), a sweet little pink hanger with clips on and a pad of 12x12 vellum!  If you know where I can get the jars from then please do let me know (in the UK) because I would love them to go in my new studio, if / when we move!

Right, on with the cleaning.  6 weeks of summer holidays and I don't even recognise my house anymore!  Don't forget to link up with Julia if you want to join in with the desk hop :-)

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 221

Its a wonderful Wednesday!  Time to hook up with lots of crafters from around the world and share your creative spaces.  Check out Julia's Stamping Ground for the blog hop list.  Don't by shy!

Thankfully there is a lot more creativity going on this week for me.  I've been working on a DT assignment using the lovely Echo Park "Perfect Summer" range which is quite apt for this lovely weather we have had this year.

I'm coming to the end of the pack but so far I have created 4 singles and a double and I haven't scrimped at all.  You can see I have more left to go too.

At the top of the pic you can see some bark that Louis insisted we bring back from Wales and he wants me to use it on a layout.  I'm thinking it might be good in place of a wood veneer if I can cut it nicely.  The little blue thingy under my scissors is my needle holder because I have been stitching on one of the layouts to outline the sun.  Here's a sneak peak.

Last week I mentioned my log of layouts which caused some consternation!  I have to keep a record of what I have made, photographed and blogged so that I don't blog the same thing or forget to photograph something.  Also when I've had times where I've not made anything, I can look at the log and find something to share.  I don't do them in order because sometimes I get backed up with DT layouts that might need to come before a group of layouts from a crop or be more suitable to a more current subject.

In the pile I found this one, don't laugh.  It was my very very first ever layout and I had no internet, no galleries, no patterned paper, no Pinterest, no sketches, nothing.

Yes folks, there are peel offs galore.

I also mentioned last week about how I needed to get sorted and several of you commented about your own desires to sort your craft rooms etc.  Thank you all so much for your support but I wish it was that simple!  My "sorting" is diet, depression, fitness, work, housework, etc.  I am hoping that I can really get a handle on things (which are all linked obviously) over the next few weeks with the help of Shimelle's Learn Something New Everyday.  If you are taking this class, please do say hi!

Bye for now
xx

Some summing up

Its been a pretty crazy couple of months around here.  The children went on school holidays and a couple of weeks later we had a new little boy in the family.  Baby T is my Great Nephew and he is now 5 weeks old.  He and his Mum and Dad moved the week he was born and they are now sadly nearly 3 hours away so the poor little sausage gets the life squeezed out of him when he visits as we take turns to hold him.

He has been down visiting this week and so we helped out by having Harvey, their lovely Staffordshire Bull Terrier for a doggy sleepover.

Between baby-watching and doggy sitting, we've not achieved much this week I can tell you!  We just about managed to fit in a quick snuggle with my other Great Nephew, Baby E who arrived in the world last week (you might remember from this post.)  He is now a whopping 4lbs and 10oz!  Even Management managed to get a snuggle of this one!

Two babies in a week is almost more than Miss Bella can handle.  Throw Harvey the dog into the mix and we have been a little... erm... overexcited to say the least.

She has found the slightly longer days at preschool really hard to adjust to with all this extra excitement going on.  At the end of the week it was all too much for her... bless!

I was really glad to get back to a routine again and part of that routine is the monthly Artful Angels crop.  This month we were visited by Handmade Treasures with her lovely displays of ribbons and buttons that looked like a lovely sweetshop.  I admit, I broke my stash diet here but only a little bit.  I used some of the stuff on Thursday when my friend came over for a scrappy play date and I managed to catch up on a few projects.

So we are now 2 weeks into the school term and I have no plans to visit or be visited by any babies or dogs this week, or to go to or host any crops.  I've also decided that as I didn't get off to a very good start with all this going on, I am not going to try to catch up or continue with LSNED this year.  I have too much to keep me occupied to be going backwards.  I can start exercising again this week and my new course starts in about 10 days time so I need to get as much done as I can before then.  Look at all these lovely books!

My routine will be a little different from now on that it was before the summer holidays but I really hope it will take me forward as I have really stalled in the last year or so with all the goings on and I can really feel the difference in my mood.  I thought if I shared my resolutions here then I might be more accountable to actually continuing with them.  So:

I want to get back to my running and hopefully start to attend the regular Park Runs held locally.
I want to make real progress with my weight loss and head towards losing another 2 stone.
I want to engage more with the children in the precious times that we have together now.
I want to get back to enjoying cooking by planning ahead and researching my Slimming World recipe books.
I want to stay in control of the house in terms of the housework, the de-cluttering and the decorating.
I want to make positive progress with my shoulder injury.
I want to keep on track with my coursework and start to look for outlets for my work.
I want to make progress on my unfinished projects and keep adding to my haul of finished layouts.
I want to make progress with my photo workflow.
I want to be calm and happy and feeling like I am moving forward.

Feel free to nag me, if you got this far you deserve it! ;-)

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 170

I. Am. So. Tired.  Despite the mess on my desk, it is not this that has kept me awake for the last 48 hours but the slightly early arrival of my 2nd Great Nephew within 4 weeks.  I was fortunate enough to be with my niece for the birth in the early hours of this morning and I'm really not sure who was supporting who when push came to shove!  It got a little urgent rather suddenly and my sister in law and I stood in the corner holding hands and shaking and willing the little guy to be okay, and he is, he is just very very little, 4lbs 9oz of pixielicious preciousness.  

Today I am supposed to be preparing for a crop at the weekend but I have been trying, and failing, to sleep, so I will try to prepare tomorrow when I can actually properly identify colours and shapes!  I will of course be using my wonderful new bag at the weekend too.

There are 2 projects going on on my desk, Learn Something New Everyday and a little gift for a talented friend.  I wouldn't say either of them were going well but obviously today is not the day to analyse that too closely.

I am going to get back to normal very soon as both children are back at school and pre-school.  This is the pair of them yesterday morning, raring to get back to their friends.

Cheeky or what?!  

Here's hoping I manage to get around a few desks before I fall asleep, with the best blog hop in town over at the Queen of Snoop, Julia.

Bye for now

xx

Ready for September

Well that was August.  Over in a flurry of showers and the occasional sunny moment.  September will bring a few changes here at Castle Johnson with Bella at preschool for 3 days and me going back to studying with the Open University.  I will also be going back to the gym to test the progress on my shoulder (or not) and I'm hopeful that by the end of the month, I will be the lightest that I have been for many years and dipping under the next stone mark at Slimming World.

Of course I will be recording this journey with Shimelle's Learn Something New Everyday.  You don't have to be a scrapbooker or a crafter of any sort to join in with this particular class because this is about the lessons we learn everyday and recording them in whichever way suits us individually.

I've mentioned before about my album, saved from last year, so here it is.  This is a bare chipboard album covered with Pink Paisley "Old School" papers and random bits from my stash.

This is the inside cover and I've cut all my pages to size and hole punched them ready to go.  I plan to do a lot of journalling this year.

This morning I finally finished my owls.  These will be the date markers with a little white number on their smart tummies, and I think I will add them to a label shape for the journalling.

Louis would like to show you his book that he made too.  We used the papers that come with Scrapbook Magazine (which I dislike intensely but are perfect for the children) and glued them back to back.  Then we cut them to size (6x4 so we can easily add photos where needed) and he rounded all the corners.  Then he cut the title element and wrote it out (several times as he wasn't happy with it) and made his own owl and a little flag.  He got very excited about we put it all together and almost combusted when I showed him how to insert the pin into the foam tape of the title!

He's got lots of different papers in his book and the spare bits are in a bag.  He has punched some shapes ready to decorate his pages and made a little pocket for these and his gems that he wants to use.  I tell you this kid is a chip off the old block!

September also sees a return of the Artful Angels crops and I am so excited because I get to take my new bag.  Look at this beauty!!!

The fabulous Lunch Lady Jan made it for me especially to fit my trimmer which won't fit in my rolling tote.  It is exactly what I wanted - pockets on the outside for my keys and purse and long straps to make it easier on my shoulder.

She chose the fabrics herself and I think she knows me well enough that she got it spot on, literally!  Pink polka dots and a pink and aqua tea cup fabric!  (She knows I love tea!)  She also made it extra sturdy by using a special backing.  I love it!

Louis took some photos of me "wearing" it but I looked awful so I ended up just holding it out so you can see all its gorgeousness.  I am very lucky to have such a talented and wonderful friend and I am planning a little something to say thank you in return.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have a cup of tea to drink.

Bye for now

xx

WOYWW 169

Happy Wednesday to you all.  This is the last Wednesday of the school holidays here which means that this is my last precious day just with my son, while my girl has her last day at nursery.  It's such a rarity to spend time with just him and me and I have no idea how we will ever manage it again, aside from him being off school poorly (very rare) while she is at preschool.

Today we will be doing some sewing as he has just discovered those pre-hole-punched sewing kits.  We will also be making a little Smash book type thing for him to record his lessons for September as he is going to be joining in with me for Learn Something New Everyday.  I thought it would be a good way to encourage him to write outside of school as he really needs the practise.  He reads beautifully, is okay at mental maths, has a great vocabulary and a wonderful imagination but anything involving using a pen / pencil and everything goes wrong - it's a bit like his brain and his hand are not connected!

I did have a clear up last week after we had both done some crafting and I sorted out my supplies for LSNED and put them in the box on the left there.  The pockets contain pieces of punched owl (we would like to confirm that no owls were harmed in the making of this blog post).

The owls will be used as date markers / journalling tags and I'm sure Louis will want to make some of these too for his own book.  Aren't they cute?!

If you stopped by last week then you will know about the mystery of the hospital tags.  Well I solved that by asking a lovely friend who was also a stand-by independent midwife for me at the time and she said NHS midwives issues them in case the baby needs to be admitted at all.  I did wonder if that was the case as they hadn't been worn, just filled in.  Still no idea why they were in the car 3 years later though!

Well that's my desk revealed for the week, how about you?  Care to share your crafting space?  Link up with the Queen of the Desks Miss Julia and let other creative types have a nosy too.

Bye for now
xx

Learn Something New Everyday

Can you believe it is almost September?  I found a leaf this morning that was scarlet, so beautiful, and I knew  Autumn was suddenly saying hello.  September always brings Shimelle's Learn Something New Everyday class and last year I got very organised with making my own album, cutting all the pages to size etc.  For some reason, I never even completed day 1.  I made mental notes about what I was learning and most of it related to the exercise programmes that I was trying to achieve.  In the end, I took the photos that related to my lessons and this weekend I made a double page layout with those instead of the album.

I printed my journalling in a list and then cut it into strips.

I'm happy that they overlap the photos which is something I wouldn't normally do, because the journalling is the most important thing here.  

Of course, the end of September was when my Step-Mum died suddenly but this wasn't  about that at all and I didn't want to make a big thing of it here.  I made a note in relation to 29th which might sound a bit harsh on its own but I intend to do another page that preceeds this one with the story of that evening - I was on my way to the gym when I got the phone call.

I used Echo Park Paper's This and That Graceful collection because the pinks and reds were a great match for my red vest and pink iPod cover.

I can tell you that I have lost NO weight since then due to hovering around the same half stone mark but I have carried on with Slimming World because I knew if I stopped I would start gaining!  My shoulders are still causing me great problems so I have had to suspend my gym membership.  The next step is another MRI looking at a different area but I am going back to the gym in September regardless to work on the bits I can.  Although I am sad that the summer holidays are almost over, I am quietly looking forward to the changes that it will bring and I will have much to record for LSNED this year!

I haven't wasted the album from last year though.  I have changed the date to 2012 and got my basket of supplies ready and I am busy making owls to use for my journalling.  I'll share my preparations in another post very soon.  What are you looking forward to about September?  Anyone else joining us for LSNED this year?

Bye for now
xx

A very sad lesson

I have 2 more weeks of LSNED to catch up on but I'm not sure when that will be at the moment.  On Thursday, my lesson was that I learn't that my Dad's partner had died very suddenly.  Everything has been up in the air since then while we wait to find out exactly what happened etc.  They had lived together for the last 15-16 years I think and my dad is 76 in a couple of weeks, so I'm obviously very worried about how he will cope as she did absolutely everything for him.  It brought home to me how quickly life can change and how we really must make the most of what we have.  It seems so wrong to be so sad when the weather is so wonderful.  She loved to be out in the sun so I know that she will be really cross about missing this unusually warm weather.

I'm finding that I am itching to scrap while I digest this shocking change in our lives so I will be back very soon I'm sure.

Bye for now
xx

Another 7 days of LSNED

First of all I wanted to say thank you for all your lovely words about my new DT role with S J Crafts.  I'm really excited and also a little bit nervous about it but I really appreciated your comments.

*WARNING*  Shocking photo below!

8th - I like this.  (Obviously I'm not talking about the sunburned beetroot look on my face or the rather plump silhouette!)  There are just so many things I have learned in the last couple of weeks about exercise, being in the gym, and running.  Most of all I realised that I actually look forward to my runs.  This needs to be a layout for sure.

9th - Jalapenos Rock.  Although being on a diet means some things are for special occasions only, chillies can liven up many dishes with no calories.  I never used to like omelettes but with jalapanos in I absolutely love them.  I have taught myself to make them so they are light and fluffy and totally delicious with a salad. Chillies are my friend.

10th - B can make a smoothie. The kids had fun at the local agricultural show where one of the stands was about healthy eating and they were encouraged to make wraps and smoothies.  But it didn't mean she had to drink it.

11th - Raspberries are not blueberries.  After running out of blueberries, which I have EVERYDAY in my muesli, I was forced to try raspberries instead.  I love them in yoghurt but they did not work at all with my breakfast.  We must never run out of blueberries again.

12th - She loves corn-on-the-cob.  This is such a great time of year for produce and it looks like B is joining the rest of the family in loving sweetcorn.  Shame it has a rather unfortunate after effect though...

13th - It sort of works.  I've been promising myself one of these garlic crushers for a couple of years now since I first saw them at the local agricultural show.  It makes a paste out of the garlic and things like ginger but it also grates chocolate, nutmeg and nuts quite finely too.  The end bits are tricky though...

14th - I have a new flower.  I saw this flower on Kirsty Wiseman's blog and I love it even though it went a bit wrong.  I have lots of ribbon so I will definitely be using this technique again.  Sometimes doing it wrong can be the right thing.

So that's the first couple of weeks of September done and I am already planning a layout for all the fitness stuff I have learned.  I've got lots of journalling to fit on so while I'm on the treadmill doing my C25k, I'm also mentally working out how I can fit loads of writing on without it becoming a page full of text!  Hey, it makes the time pass and that's all good, yes?!  Crafting on the treadmill, is that extreme scrapping or what?!

Bye for now!

xx

WOYWW 120

Well its been a wonderful week so far (see previous post about my new DT role for S J Crafts!) but I can hardly believe it is Wednesday already!

This was my desk last night while I was midway through Shimelle's Starting Point from the weekend.  We have my basket of LSNED bits that I have to sort out due to changing my mind, then a previous layout which needs filing, my iPad for inspiration, my hospital appointment letter for Friday (FINALLY might get my extra ribs sorted!), my cup of tea (I'm going decaff to try and help with sleeping), and then all across the bottom are the bits for the current project.

I did one Starting Point and I didn't like it, I don't know why, but I will post it up in the next few days and maybe you can help me work out why!  I much prefer my second version with the My Minds Eye Good Day Sunshine papers.  This was the Starting Point (which for those who don't know is the basis that we are given and then we expand things from there so a slightly different take on a sketch).

The photo was taken by L, my newly 5 year old boy took in the early summer.  We may have shady faces but we are in focus, smiling, looking at the camera and all the relevent bits are in it (i.e. no heads cut off!)  I love this photo because of the joy on our faces and because he wanted to take a picture of us having fun.

I took the photo this morning but I decided it looked too flat so I added the pleated ribbon for more texture.  I do have to get myself into some funny positions when the light is bad and its a rainy day like today and I wonder how many crafters have injured themselves in pursuit of a decent photo!

So what's on your workdesk today?  Go on share it!  You know you want to!  Take a look at Julia's blog if you want to know more and to see many other desks from across the world.

Bye for now
xx

I'm excited to announce....

...that I have my very first DT role!

I will be designing for the newly opened S J Crafts which is a lovely on-line shop based in the Bournemouth area.  Sarah holds regular open days and crops so I hope to get down and meet her in person very soon.  In the meantime I can look forward to a parcel of goodies for my first assignment which I will obviously be sharing on here too.  I am really excited about this and I think it was fate that made our paths cross at just the right time.

Sarah has frequent special offers in the shop and P&P is free when you spend £15 (and who wouldn't want to spend £15 when she has such lovelies as this collection?)

The other wonderful team members are:
Jo
Jenny
Louise
Jennifer

I had actually guessed 3 of these but I'm not sure how!  They are blogs I have visited often and admired their work and I hope you will too.  I'm looking forward to seeing what we all come up with and I'm really excited to see an independent shop stocking lots of different product lines and I'm wondering what else will be coming to the shop soon.

I had such a great day yesterday and it started with Sarah's e-mail asking me to be on the team.  Then one of my layouts was used in one of Shimelle's prompts for LSNED.  Then a mum at school told me that I look slimmer everytime she sees me (that went down VERY well I can tell you!)  Then I lost 1.5lb at Slimming World and came home to a grocery delivery where we ended up with £5 of best ham for nothing.

This morning I went to the gym, as is my normal Tuesday routine, and I completed Day 1, Week 4 of C25k and I managed it okay!  I am feeling on top of the world right now and although I know I must be very careful with my moods, it finally feels like things are starting to fall into place.  I am even feeling brave enough to go to Alexandra Palace on my own on Sunday (please let me know if you will be there too!)

So I hope you will join me for a virtual cuppa, have a peruse of the shop blog and the other ladies blogs too, and say "chin chin" or "bottoms up" (or whatever it is you say where you are) in order to celebrate all that is good in the world.

Bye for now xx

WOYWW 119

I had a bit of an epiphany this week and it has made things much easier in my crafting space, (and given me another lesson for LSNED).  At the crop I go to, we have half a table each and then a chair at right angles to the chair we sit on.  The intention is that we put our utensil bag on this chair and it keeps the tables clearer.

At home though I keep my bag on the right hand corner of the table as you may have seen if you have visited me before.  But I am short and I can't actually see into it.  *Lightbulb moment*   I have a "guest" chair on the other side of the table (used to be for my friend and is now hardly used but needs to stay in case L crafts with me).  I have now moved that round so that it sits at my right hand side like it does at the crop.  I can see into it without standing up, I don't stab myself on my compass, and I have more space on my table.  Win win!  I can't believe I didn't think of this before but I was probably too busy making a mess :-)

This week I am working on another ballet themed layout with very similar colours and papers as the 8 photo extravaganza in the previous post.  It will be separated in the album by more ballet layouts but with very different papers so that there is variety but I had these to hand and they just work so well for this theme.

This layout also uses some of the same MME papers but hopefully looks quite different and appears in a totally different album as it was from Christmas last year.

I discovered at this Christmas party that B has a particular fondness for Wotsits and balloons!  I made some more music paper embellishments with the gorgeous MME brads.

The title lettering on the banner is from the MME die-cuts and "Party" is Woodware chipboard spritzed with grapefruit Radiant Rain glimmer mists.  These look SO much better IRL!

Feel free to check out other craft spaces in their various messy states over at Julia's blog, you'll be glad you did.

Bye for now xx

Preparing for LSNED

I can't believe it is September already.  Where did the summer holidays go?  Possibly they got washed away...  We went to the zoo last week and I wore a scarf.  A scarf I tell you, on the south coast of England, in the height of summer!

But alas, these lazy starts are soon to be a thing of the past once more as L goes into year 1.  I can scarcely believe that the time has gone so quickly through his first year and he is now about to enter his second year of actual school.  And of course if school is about to start then that must mean another presentation of Shimelle's Learn Something New Everyday.

I had an idea of how I was going to do it this year but then I totally changed my mind!  I thought that this September might be a time of real development for me and so I wanted to make more of it than just noting down a few things.  Also I was swayed by my new papers from 2 peas.  I bought the Pink Paislee Old School collection ready for more school layouts of L but in truth, aside from his first day etc, there are not going to be that many and also I will always want to buy new school themed bits as they come out!

I found some chipboard covers and used the Pink Paislee paper to cover the outsides.  I wanted to liven up the fairly dark colour scheme and discovered that many of the My Mind's Eye All About Boys papers go quite nicely too.  I used some of these papers for the insides of the covers and added some to my basket to make up the rest of the kit for the class.  I went through my scraps to add to the basket too and then I cut up 30 pages of cardstock for the page bases.  I intended to stick these back to back as I went along but I didn't want to do it before making the pages in case I wanted to use different colours or use things that would need to go through.  However, now I think I want to use the backs to do the journalling and just do a title on the front with the photo.

I made a total cock up of the back cover.  I made it match the front which meant that the multi coloured bit was on the wrong edge.  I couldn't have it like that, or the writing upside down, so I had to cut the edge off and stick it on the other side.  Luckily I noticed before I covered the inside so I was able to make it a bit more secure.  I hope!

Now it just remains for me to see what I will learn this September!

Bye for now xx