Gym Buddies

I was back at the gym today for the first time in 10 days and let me tell it felt like a lot longer away!  I've had to rest for a week because of some problems with my knees (which I've had since 18) and then this weekend I got my first proper migraine and I was flat out for a few days (hence missing WOYWW).  The issues with my knees haven't gone away so we are having to tweak what I'm doing but I hope to get some answers soon.  Luckily I have my trainer on hand to advise me :-)

Other than when my nieces were babies, I've not had the pleasure of their company very much and one of them now lives a few hours away so it is really precious to be able to spend time with my eldest niece.  This layout is about our new relationship as friends as well as auntie / niece, and about the laughs and trials and tribulations we have together.  

Hhhmmm, still not quite got the camera sorted but I am on to it ;-)  Most of the supplies were from Echo Park's mini theme Brothers which just fitted colour and style wise.  The cork heart from... erm... somewhere, acts as a mat for the Amy Tan Thickers and the badges are from October Afternoon's Sasparilla.

I finished off with a few cheap and cheerful sticky stars and some very old star brads to complement the stars in the papers and then added a couple of bits of washi tape and called it done.

I do have another gym layout using the same colours but its a bit of a story and I need to put my big girl pants on before I feel ready to share it.  Maybe next week...

Bye for now

xx

Hang Tough - Shimelle Challenge

I managed to complete a few of the challenges from Shimelle's cyber crop last weekend.  Unfortunately I had to bring them to Wales to photograph as I ran out of time before we had to leave.  The weather decided to take a turn for the worse and I have struggled to get clear pictures but I will keep trying!  This first one seemed to be the better of the bunch and was inspired by this challenge.

I used Echo Park's All About A Boy collection which is in the sale at S J Crafts currently.  I'd forgotten how much I loved the bright colours.

I used the TOUGH banner from the sticker sheet for the title and added some more stickers and chipboard pieces for interest and texture.  I wanted to get across the fun and adventure that the girls were having when they climbed the wall at the play centre where Bella was having her 5th birthday party.

A couple of brads from a Halloween collection by October Afternoon and some very old gems and it was job done.  It took me ages because I couldn't decide on the papers but once I had done that it came together quite quickly.

I had a great time scrapping old and new photos and using old and new stash.  There was a wonderful sense of freedom as I wasn't doing a project or a DT assignment or making a rushed card for someone etc.  I'd forgotten how much I love scrapping and as such there are a few more projects to share over the next few days.

Did you join in with the challenges too?

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 256

I do keep meaning to post more than my desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday but I still haven't properly recovered from the last few months and got back into a routine yet.  I did spend Saturday crafting in a good cause though at a 12 hour charity crop for Naomi House children's hospice and you can see one of the layouts I made after my desk shot.

And here it is...

 Points to note: I was finishing up some DT work (partially hidden under the letter stickers) because I didn't like it, it didn't seem finished.  I added some twine with some tacky glue and I like it more now.  I had actually put it away as finished, hence my AC album being out but every time I went to post up the photo to the DT blog I found I was holding back because it didn't seem quite right!

Anyhoo, its done now and will be up on the blog soon but it needs to dry and be photographed - which in itself is a conundrum with this incessant weather.  I usually take my pictures outside in the day time but I just haven't been home when it hasn't been raining!

There is an empty pint glass there but it wasn't full of beer - I take a soluble vitamin thingy every day mixed with another medicine that I have to take and together they taste quite nice and get me to drink more water so its a win win - except that it makes my wee fluorescent yellow which can be quite alarming the first time you notice ;-)

At the back of the table are two boxes of embellishments that I have recently been travelling with.  The Jo Malone candle box hasn't been unpacked since the retreat a fortnight ago and the clear box is everything I've been using on my Devon album.  If I don't have time or energy to gather together stuff for other layouts, I grab that box, my bag of papers and my album and I'm good to go.  It already has all the page protectors in with the photos appropriately spaced so I can pick it up and put it down and return to it as and when.

This was one of the 5 or so layouts that I completed on Saturday.

All the supplies are October Afternoon, some very old, some not quite so.  The divided page protectors are American Crafts and come in various sizes so much easier to play with in short bursts than a regular 12x12.

Gosh it feels like a long time since we first visited Featherdown Farm's Aller Farm and therefore a long time since I started this album.  I think I've broken the back of it now though... if I could just resist trying to use EVERY SINGLE picture of a cow then I would have finished by now...

Right, I'm off for another session at the gym and then I can come back and relax and peruse the other desks knowing I have done a good thing for myself - it really really helps my depression (more on that in another post).  If I can still use my arms afterwards I might even leave a comment or two so please do stick the kettle on ;-)

Bye for now

xx

WOYWW 231

Ssshhh!  Pretend you haven't seen me here for WOYWW 'kay?  I'm supposed to be doing my 'novel in a month' for NaNoWriMo but it isn't going terribly well so I decided to take a little bit of time out and join in with the Wednesday fun.  

Of course I missed the ideal window of opportunity with which to take my photo so you've got a nice shade of yellow to the picture today.  

You can see the scrapbook page I finished off in the middle there for the album towards the top of the pic.  You can also see the 2013 diary page which has fallen out of my Festive Planner which you will be able to see if you pop back on Friday for the Frosty Festivities blog hop.

Here's the finished page.  Although the lettering took a while I'm really pleased with it.  Upcycling + memory recorded + page I love = what its all about.  I actually experimented with using some Mod Podge and some ordinary PVA to stiffen the fabric prior to cutting.  I found that there wasn't THAT much of a difference so if you fancy giving it a go without forking out for Mod Podge then that's another option for you.

The hexagons are an idea that I Pinned from JimJams - thank you!  Another memory of Aller Farm scrapped and I am still really loving all of this album and the way it is flowing.  Crafting makes me happy :-)

What's on your desk this week?  Don't be afraid to link up, whatever the state of your desk or your mind ;-)

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW213

I'm pretty sure that time is on warp speed at the moment and I wish someone knew how to turn it down a bit!  Things were supposed to get easier once my course finished but obviously I stacked up a load of stuff for "after" and still haven't quite caught up with myself yet.

I have managed some time at my desk this week, to make a card for a lovely friend's 30th birthday.  I hope to goodness that she likes pink!

We went out for a drink for her birthday last night and the night before that I went to see Strictly Confidential with another couple of friends.  Seriously, I go for months without going out at all and then I go out two nights on the trot!  

Today I am doing a photo shoot in Beaulieu with my lovely niece.  She has some great ideas for her and her baby but I hope she is not disappointed.  I get a lovely shot once in a while and then people think I can do full on shoots!

We've also been busy with Bugsy Malone recently which is now finished.  Here is my boy sporting the remains of his pencil moustache after his performance.  Considering they are only just 7, they did amazingly well.

Please link up with the rest of the desks at Stamping Ground if you want to join in the fun.  In the meantime, keeeeeeeeeep dancing!!

(and if you were interested in the viewmaster reel from the scrapbook layout in the previous post, it was in an ephemera pack from October Afternoon.)

Bye for now
xx

Road Trip

Our holiday to Lower Roduish Farm at the start of the month seems so long ago now.  I can't quite work out why life is so chaotic at the moment but I feel like we need another holiday!  We've spent the day at Legoland and we are all exhausted but happy.  I am loving time with my family right now.  I can honestly say that I really do feel positive at the moment and like the recovery plans are actually starting to come together and mean something.  Its taking a lot of time and hard work but I will get there.  In the meantime, with a week in Wales at Grandma's still a good few weeks away, I shall have to be content with looking at photos of our previous Featherdown camping trip at Aller Farm.

This is one of the very early pages from the album because it was the road trip down to Aller Farm.  We stopped off at West Bay for a leg stretch and some lunch and fully embraced the holiday spirit from the off!

Supplies are of course, October Afternoon, from various collections and a little stamp from Amy Tangerine.  I love that projector slide!

I think the alphas are some old Lilly Bee ones but it feels good to be using up some unloved supplies.

Is it wrong that I am having to resist making up the new Lego sets that the children bought today?  They are in bed.  I am itching to open the boxes!  I wonder if I will ever tire of that favourite childhood toy!  Is there anything that you played with as a child that you still love to play with now?  Do let me know.

Bye for now
xx

WOYWW 211

Happy Hump Day!  It's time for the weekly trip around the desks across the world to see what everyone is up to at the moment.  

This was my desk late on Tuesday afternoon... untouched since late on Saturday afternoon after a day's scrapping.

I'm still working on my Devon album from last year using October Afternoon so that's what you can see scattered across the desk.  The chair on the other side was temporarily inhabited by the lovely Sarah on Saturday and she brought my order of albums with her. It was lovely to craft at home but have some company too as I'd forgotten what it was like.  I bought 2 of the Amy Tan albums in wood-grain chevron print that you can see on the corner of the desk there and I can tell you they are gorgeous so I am in the process of reloading my Devon layouts into that.  I managed a couple more on Saturday and this is one of them.

This is mostly the Sidewalks collection which I just love.  Its the facing page for a split protector about the ice-creams we all had on the way to our holiday.

I'm gradually catching up after my holiday, coursework and various other absences and hopping around lots of blogs to see what I missed.  Put the kettle on for me won't you, I'm gasping for a cuppa!

This post is brought to you in conjunction with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday with the wonderful Julia so head on over and link up your desk and see who comes by.

Bye for now
xx

Devon, this year and last.

We are back from our wonderful holiday in North Devon!  This was the view from our amazing semi-permanent tent on Lower Roduish Farm.  You can just about see Louis and Bella heading off up the pretty stream holding hands.  All the children spent a LOT of time playing in that field and paddling in the water and floating random things in it.  

I'm still sorting through the pictures so expect to see more of them very soon but suffice to say that we were very jammy with the weather again and we had a wonderful time, slowing time (as much as we can with 2 lively children) and just being together as a family after a very busy few months.  Sadly tomorrow Management goes back to work and Louis goes back to school, Bella on Tuesday, and I have a tonne of work in the pipeline so its back to crazy busy again.  At least I have my crop on Saturday to look forward to and I can do some more work on my album from our holiday last year with Featherdown Farms!

This is the title page of my Aller Farm album.  I wonder if I will ever catch up!

*sigh*  I love holidays but I don't like coming home to mountains of washing and we miss our friends on the farm already.  Is it possible to get jet lag travelling North Devon to Southampton?  I think it is.

Bye for now
xx

Last few for NSD!

I promise this is it for NSD a few days!  I will go back to being a struggling writer and SAHM for the next few days until I go to a crop on Saturday.  I'm really pleased to have put more layouts in my album over this last week, especially those that were half finished or almost there.  It looks like I have done loads but obviously a fair number of them were completed with thanks to the challenge and not started from scratch - I DO have a life that tends to get in the way of my craft you know ;-)

This page is for the challenge to "scraplift yourself".  Its a design that I use a fair amount because it is quick but can look very different depending on colours and how much above and below the photos etc.  I probably lifted it from Shimelle at some point in the past though.  

This is the right page (yet to start the left) about arriving at Aller Farm and having to use wheelbarrows to carry all our stuff to the tent because we are not allowed to have cars on site.  Any time we had to collect stuff from the shop or take back ice-packs and rubbish etc then we had to use the barrows.  The children loved pushing them almost as much as riding in them!

All of the papers are from October Afternoon but from various collections.  I love how you can mix and match with then like that.  The turquoise paper is from Ducks In A Row which a collection I would never have bought for myself.  Its a really old collection and the bits I have from it came in a Santa Sack where you get random bits and pieces from over the years at a big reduction.  Its really great to be able to use up some of these papers by putting them together with ones that I love like the stripe and the yellow floral.

Back to something a little more current with the papers but much older with the photos.  I have no idea why Louis was wearing a red nose because I don't think they ever did foam ones for Red Nose Day did they?  Anyway, he seemed to like it!  

The papers here are Echo Park's About A Boy with matching chipboard and this layout was for the challenge to scrap using square photos.  They were originally 4x6 but I cropped them to square to get rid of extraneous details.  

Phew!  Right time to visit a few blogs and then it is back to my assignment before I get into trouble.  Only 2 pieces of writing to do and then I am done till September, woop woop!

Bye for now
xx

And more NSD

I would love to not have to go to sleep for a few days, just so I can get some stuff done that I WANT to do right now, rather than HAVE to do, know what I mean?!

This page was for Shimelle's challenge to do some fancy cutting.  I cut this polaroid frame on my silhouette but kept the picture almost at the original size so that I could use the grass in the photo to fill the negative space.  

I've been looking forward to using these October Afternoon Campfire Trails papers for literally years!  The vast majority of papers in our Devon album for Featherdown Farm are OA.

I'm also using the same range of punches throughout the album.

This next page is for the challenge to use divided page protectors and will be the only set in the album that don't use OA.  These are Echo Park Birthday Wishes like the other couple of layouts about the pizza night at Aller Farm which was fab!  We actually had two pizza nights and on the second one Management had to do all the cooking because we had done it before so they left us to it!

I lent farmer Nigel my fleece because he was trying to put his bare arm too far in the oven and it ended up getting holes in it from the embers!  He was so embarrassed but I didn't mind at all, its old anyway and now it has another story to add to its memories.

Last one for today.  Another one from the pile of "had photos and some papers but nothing else" and when I saw the challenge for adding a letter, it sounded the perfect way to round up this layout.  The picture is of Louis dashing about with his camera at a castle in Pembrokeshire and it sums him up perfectly.  

The letter inside the scrap-a-lope is written to Louis explaining what he was like at that age and how he loved this castle and everything that was going on there.  He took loads of pictures of random things but all the time with this huge smile on his face, appreciating the scale of the building and the different way they lived there.  He has such a zest for life and one day in the future when he is flicking through this album, I want him to know that I love that so much about him.

Its definitely a technique I will use again and in fact I might just do that very soon and again write about what he is like now because he turns 7 in just 3 weeks time.  My little baby is growing up fast - sob!

Bye for now
xx

Lots more challenges for NSD

Happy Saturday!  Good luck to everyone doing a Race For Life or the Moonwalk tonight!  I hope the weather stays perfect for you.

Its only 3 weeks until we go on holiday and we are going back to Featherdown Farm but this time in Exmoor.  The children are beyond excited and one of their most overriding memories of Aller Farm was keeping our 2 little chickens.

Each morning we would race over to let them out and see if they had laid anything.  We got 2 eggs each day and sometimes they would still be warm from the chicken!  They were delicious!

This layout doesn't have a title because it is part of a linked page that I haven't completed yet.  I wasn't sure how to finish it off until I saw Shimelle's challenge to use fabric on your layout.  I love using denim and its been a while since I've done it so this was the perfect opportunity.

I painted on Mod Podge to make it stiff and used the same stuff to glue on a chipboard piece.  When it was dry I was able to go around with scissors and a craft knife because it dries a bit like card.

The other bits and pieces are from an October Afternoon ephemera pack from their Boarding Pass collection.  I'm using OC throughout the Devon album.

I also made a facing page for my Balls layout to make it into a double for this challenge.   I'm definitely not in love with this one now that I have tinkered with it to make them match but it's another set of photos out of the drawer and into the albums and Bella enjoyed helping to sort the buttons.

There's more to come today and tomorrow so its a busy time for blog with all the challenges and hopping!  Did you join in with the blog hop yesterday?  There's a lot of inspiration around right now huh?!

Time to get busy glueing and cutting with the children now.  They keep taking the micky out of me for leaving the top off my glue stick and ruining it because its something I am always reminding me about - cheeky poppets!  Its hard when you are on a roll... ;-)

Bye for now
xx

Olympic Challenge

Its time for another challenge over at S J Crafts and this time we have a highly topical Olympic theme.  Of course the possibilities are endless for this really - anything sporty, maybe something about London or your country's flag, did you see the torch, how has the Olympics affected you?  

My layout is about my own little Bradley Wiggins when he finally sussed pedalling and riding properly on his bike with stabilisers.  Goodness he was so cute back then!

The first idea that came to me was to use the idea of rings to echo the Olympic symbol.  This lead the way for the layout and I also wanted to include flag shapes and my country's colours.  I was stuck for a title so as an extra nod to the Olympics, I used the idea of one of the qualities needed to be an Olympic athlete - Perseverance.

It was an ideal time to use some of my favourite October Afternoon Rocket Age along with various stickers, buttons, and Teeny Alphas.  

There are lots of other ideas for the challenge over at the S J Crafts blog so why not play along?  You could win your choice of 6x6 pad from the shop (and if you need ideas on how to use them, watch this blog space!)

The challenge closes on 15th August at 1pm.

Go Team GB!!!

Bye for now

xx

Well Hello Sun!

So yesterday morning we were strawberry picking in the rain (a VERY poor harvest this year) but by the afternoon we were feeling a tad warm.  Today the sun is properly out and I hear rumours of this lasting 4 days.  We shall see.

In celebration of the brief sunny interlude, I have a rather bright layout to share!  I used Shimelle's Starting Point and may actually get this uploaded in the same week it was offered which is a rarity at the moment.  Yet another Pembrokeshire layout featuring Louis, this time telling how he is so desperate to get in the water that he ends up going in with his clothes on for a "paddle" and before we know it he is wet through from head to toe.  How can you resist though when he clearly makes him so happy.

The papers and chipboard are Cosmo Cricket Salt Air, the ribbon is American Crafts and the Playtime rubber charm is October Afternoon Sidewalks.  The gems are Papermania and Louis has asked me to inform you that the ones used as bubbles on the fish was his idea.  Taught him well I have, as Yoda would say.

This is one of nearly 5 layouts I completed at the Artful Angels crop on Saturday so you can expect a flurry of posts in the next couple of weeks.  It was wonderful to be back scrapping, I feel I have been lacking time and motivation recently but a mad Pinning session had me eager to get back to my scissors and glue - huzzah!

Bye for now
xx

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

S J Crafts Challenge - Favourites

There is a new challenge up on the S J Crafts blog and this months theme is "Favourites".  There is endlesss scope for this challenge - colours, places, products, people, you name it, you can make a project with it.

For my "Pretty As A Picture" layout, I chose a piece of patterned paper from my favourite manufacturer, October Afternoon.  I've been hoarding it for a while, wanting to use it but not sure how.  I also used my new favourite bunting punch.  A few people have asked me about this punch - its called "small pennant" and its made by E K Success (so a solid product) for Stampin Up.  I do know a couple of Stampin Up Consultants if you want to get your hands on one.  

Some other favourites include the pink paper which is some sort of Papermania effort I think, Jenni Bowlin butterflies and the pink and green combination.

The photos were taken on a rare sunny September day last year in one of our favourite places, Beaulieu.  I don't think it is Managent's favourite place as he is there every day for work but we are very lucky to be able to visit him any time we like and wander in the grounds.

I've just spent the last couple of minutes wiping a finger mark off my computer screen but now I can see that it is actually on the photo!  I do apologise.  Poor Bella having a moment of fame marred by one of my oily hand prints!

So, if you think you can create a paper project for the challenge involving something that is your favourite, then make sure you link up to the challenge at S J Crafts and you could be in with a chance of a prize too.  The closing date is 16th May at 1pm.

Bye for now!
xx

WOYWW 150

Good morning Wednesday - gosh its a wet and blustery one!

I have an in-betweeny desk this week.  You know that odd and very brief phase where you have just tidied up after one session and are about to embark on another so it looks temporarily tidy-ish.  This is the layout I have just finished for one of the challenges from Shimelle's On-line crop weekend.  This one was to use 3 different manufacturers.  I was part way through a DT layout involving Childish Things by Fancy Pants and I wanted to use a piece of denim but it got lost in the wash.  I had October Afternoon's Rocket Age out which went well and then I pulled some pieces out of Echo Park's A Boys Life so all in all it turned out okay and I never did find the denim!

The piles you can see are my preparations for a crop on Saturday.  I am very much hoping to make good headway with some more of the challenges from the weekend.

I am also really excited to be meeting Sarah from S J Papercrafts for the first time as she is bringing her shop to the crop.  It will be lovely to finally meet my DT "boss" in person!  I will probably have to buy lots of things too.... ;-)

Thank you for all your messages last week hoping that we all stay well.  Unfortunately we haven't and young Bella has a slight cold but it has really affected her breathing.  Rather selfishly, I really hope she stays well enough to go to nursery as I have to go into hospital for an operation myself today too (no more babies for us and now no surrogates either).  I won't get around many desks today but I must admit that I was rather grateful for a late Wednesday op.  It means that I can spend some of my recovery time being a nosy parker in my pyjamas, snooping at everyone's desks in the next couple of days.  Thanks to Julia for hosting what has become such a wonderful Wednesday routine.

Bye for now
x

New stash... ahem..

A little bit here and a little bit there and it soon adds up right?  This little lot needs putting away at some point.

Because of Christmas preparations and working on my Christmas Journal, I haven't had a moment to put away anything new since mid November so I just stacked it up.  I'd been pretty good and hadn't bought anything new for a while.  Then October Afternoon went and had a Santa Sack Sale and I couldn't resist.  I was stung big time for the customs though due to being charged on the value ($100) and not on the sale price ($35) and for some reason it going through Royal Mail who charge an admin fee.  October Afternoon  were releasing these sacks each week but I wouldn't be going for the next sack after that... except... a friend I met on-line and have since met in real life a couple of times (waves to Jaki!) had a solution and so we both bought one of the later Santa sacks.

I had a back order of paper pads and bits and bobs from S J Crafts and that arrived a couple of weeks before Christmas and then another of my fave shops had a sale so I had a little purchase there too.  And then of course came Christmas.  My wonderful hubs bought me a grab box and various page protectors, several packs of buttons and a goody bag.

Then because I didn't get any Promarkers for Christmas, I went a little bit mad on them when I found them for half price!  And during my chats with the girls and boys on the Facebook QVC Craft forum, someone sent me a pack that they hadn't even opened and then Jaki and I swapped 3 that we had doubles of - result!  Finally, I think, there has been a craft clearance extravaganza on QVC which started at 12pm on 28th.  I couldn't sleep so I managed to get one of the TSVs (Today's Special Value) which had sold out by 9am.  It was a large stack of Bazzil Basics cardstock which worked out to about 25p a sheet even with the p&p.

I have spent the last two days cleaning other parts of the house and having another bit of a de-clutter and so my treat tomorrow will be having a really good look at everything as I put it away and have a bit of a tidy up in my craft room.  I ache like I have done a workout but I'm really hoping that I will keep on top of things now and that it will help me feel more in control.  That's the plan anyway ;-)

Bye for now
xx