A big thank you

First a big thank you from me to you dear blogger friends for all your lovely comments about my 2011 album pages I showed you in my last post.  Your encouragement really does mean a lot and I am determined to see this album through and complete it.


The end of half term approaches and we have had a lovely time - it has great having no deadlines - it has been the rest we all really needed before the silly season starts.  On Wednesday we enjoyed a lovely day at Cliveden with friends - the rain held off and the sun shone.   Just a perfect day!

In other news, I am off to my first ever crop tomorrow - I'm excited to be meeting some "real life"  scrappers but nervous as I won't know anyone.  I'm also panicking about what to take - any suggestions will be gratefully received!

2011 Album - April Pages

So far this half term we have enjoyed making dens, loft sorting,  a scrummy sunday lunch, a little shopping and today spending time with friends. Phew so much already and still loads more planned. I've realised that this is the first holiday this year that I have spent at home and I'm loving it.  Just be able to take our time and not follow any schedules is great - I am definitely going to have more holidays at home it 2012!  


Anyway I thought I would show you some more pages from my 2011 album that I worked on last week.   April was a very busy month for us, and I had loads of photos to choose from!  So  much so that I put in two lots of divided page protectors.

Here is the first page, showing our family celebration at Easter;

Then will follow the two divided pages - I'm just showing you one - but both sides;

Then the final page giving a glimpse of our Euro Disney Adventure.

Again to tie the two 12x12 layouts together, I've used the same backing sheet and  same patterned paper.

So thats Jan, March and April completed.  Next on the agenda is February.

Hurray its Half Term!

And I am off work for the week.  So I'm looking foward to kicking back, chilling out and;

Also on the agenda is some crafting with paper bags, printed faces and fabric squares.  There also may be some contemplating of "Chri***mas.  But there will definitely be catching up with friends and lots of fun.


Hopefully I will be back during the week with further updates.

Discovering Scrapbooking.

When did you discover scrapbooking? 


Do you remember - was there a single defined moment in time.  Probably not.  I don't really know how I came to be knee deep in patterned paper but at some point whilst lurking among the craft magazines at WH Smith I picked up Scrapbook Inspirations (RIP) and from then on was hooked.  I do remember I bought the magazine for many months, before actually completing a page!!  I just didn't know where to start.  But obviously I did start, and now a few years on I can't imagine stopping.  

Would you like to see my first ever page?  Well actually it is two pages - yes a double layout!  (Since then I've only ever done one other DLO)

There are many things on these pages that I simply don't do now or don't like. However I do see the beginnings of my style - ie clustering the embellishments around the photos - I still tend to do this now.  I have read that some people go back and redo their old layouts which is not something I would choose to do mostly because I have hardly got enough hours to scrap the photos I want to let alone re do old ones!!  But mainly because, when my daughters look through these albums, they are not interested in the style, the choice of paper and the design. No they want to see the photos, read the details and talk about their memories. After all that is for me the reason for all the pretty paper.

So do you remember when you started scrapbooking?  Are you brave enough to show your first layout?  

Inspired by.....

On my latest wanderings around the internet, I have been very taken with the all the embroidery hoop art I have seen. 


These are so simple yet effective - swatches of Liberty prints hooped up - taken from the Purl bee blog.

Or how about this one;

Love the cute applique hearts - it is a wedding present and the couples name and date of the wedding have been stamped on the fabric - the details can be seen here.

Or perhaps a something more seasonal;

If you search Pinterest or Etsy you will find many more examples.  


Anyway it got me thinking that maybe I could make one myself.  So yesterday I searched around my crafty stash and dug out an embroidery hoop and some fabric came up with this;

I used a house template found here.


I enjoyed doing this and will definitely have a go at making some more. This is destined for some friends who have recently moved house - I hope they like it.


So what about you - what is inspiring you at the moment?

2011 Album - progress made!

Back here I posted about my 2011 album and showed off my March pages.  Since then I've done nothing more.  But as we approach the end of the year, I am in finishing mood and I do want to complete the album.  Over the weekend I managed to do my January pages, which document our New Year in Okehampton.

Whilst I'm not coordinating all the way through the album, I am doing so for each month.  Both full page layouts use the same background paper and I used the same paper range for the patterned paper. Between these two pages will be a divided page protector - this is not quite done as I need to get some more photos printed off.

Whilst I had the album out, I organised the photos for the February and April pages - I just need to add the journalling to the divided pages and complete the actual pages.  I've also started to compile a photo box order for May/June/July and August.  There seems like a lot to do but I am determined to complete it.

What about you - as we approach the final few months of the year are you finishing off!

M&M World

During the Summer Holidays, we spent a day in London to celebrate my brother in laws birthday.  As we strolled near Leicester Square, we happened upon M&M world.  Yes believe it or not a whole shop with several floors dedicated to M&M's!  Yes I thought the same - how could you possible fill a whole shop with M&M merchandise.  Well apparently you can, and they have.  

Anyway the oldest wanted to go inside the shop - something we all found slightly strange as she has a severe peanut allergy and we don't allow M&M's in the house.  Fortunately the peanuts have to be eaten to cause the reaction, so we were quite safe!   Anyway the shop was very busy, very colourful and and very, very loud.  Something I tried to reflect in my layout.

As you can see from the photo, whilst the oldest loved it, I don't think the youngest was quite so sure.

The M&M man to the left of the layout belongs to my husband.  He was a present from his best friend, during the time we shared a flat.  As I'm not a lover of red plastic items it was banished to the loft for many years, but recently escaped and now seems to live in our TV room.  As you can imagine my husband thought it was highly amusing that I used it as a prop in the photo, considering I have threatened to throw it out on many occasion.  It probably deserves a layout of its own!

10 things

10 random facts about me!


1.  I am addicted to chocolate - Dairy Milk is my fave.
2. I cannot drive.
3. I went to teacher training college but work as an accounts administrator.
4. I sing in a Choir.
5. I'm clerk to the governing body at a local infant school.
6. My favourite TV programmes include Spooks, House, Holby City and Lewis. (do you spot a theme!)
7. I have been married 16 years.
8. I love musicals - "Joseph and his Technicolour dream coat" is my all time fave - "My Fair Lady" a close second.
9. My favourite colour is Blue.
10. I have a younger brother.


To enjoy more "10 things" pop over to Shimelles.

Starting to Explore again.

Back at the beginning of the holidays I signed up for Shimelles Explore Class.  I started well, making the "playbook" and completing the first two prompts. And then I was not so good as summer madness took over.

Anyway bearing in mind that Shimelles no stress mantra, I have dragged it back out and I'm determined to complete it, but am not going to worry about how long it takes me.

Prompt 3, involved maps and making establishments using circles.  Below is my page from my playbook;

Back before we had children, hubby and I did alot of walking and have accumulated many OS maps, which I photographed.  I enjoyed using the maps in my crafting and will definitely use this idea again.  On the back I journalled about my eldest daughters transition to secondary school and how I need to remember to take a step back and let her "find her own way"!

Whilst I'm here I like to thank you all for your lovely comments  - I'm so glad to be back in the swing of blogging again.  I have been trying to comment myself but at times blogger is not behaving and I can't work out why.  

Enjoy your Saturday what ever you are doing.

Happy Mail Day!

The other day a  post on SJ's - Little Musings led me to discover The Make and Create Shop and in particular the "Old Type" embellishment kit.  When I saw I fell in love and popped it in my basket.  Two days later it arrived, all beautifully packaged and with a lovely handwritten note.

Its even better close up and I can't wait to start creating - below is just a selection from the bag of goodies!

Also whilst browsing, these pink pretties also seem to fall into my basket!

Do take a look - you won't be disappointed.

New Beginnings

One of the reasons that my blogging took such a break was that September bought a complete change of routine in this house due to the "new beginnings" that happened in our house.

My eldest started Secondary school - a big step change for her and the rest of us.  Not only is she responsible for getting herself to and from school, getting 3 or 4 pieces of homework a night takes a lot of organising!  The good news is that she has coped beautifully and is really enjoying her new school.

So now it is just the youngest on the daily school run, something she has taken to adjust to as up to now, big sister has always been there.  She has also moved from infant school to junior school and although they are next door to each other, she has had to get used to new buildings, teachers and rules.

And finally after two years of unemployment, my husband went back to school as well!  He has totally changed career and has started work as a school bursar at a local primary school.  He is really enjoying being back in the world of work and the challenge of his new role.

Me - my job has been to guide us all through these new routines and find ways to make them work.  As half term approaches I think I can stop holding my breath, knowing that we have all made it through this period of change.

Carnival Days

Back in the day when brown wall paper was fashionable and "Sindy" was the only doll to have, my family became involved in the summer carnival in the town where I spent my childhood.  It started when our next door neighbour persuaded my Mum to let me enter the "Carnival Princess" competition.  This mainly involved wearing your best frock, smiling nicely and walking up and down in front of the judges in a straight line.  Although I wasn't picked to be the Princess, I did get to be crown bearer - that's me in the photo below carrying the cushion.  What the picture does not show is that the Princess had a whole entourage of attendants which all had to be dressed in pretty dresses and accompanied the Princess on her carnival float at the front of the procession.  And that's where our involvement started - Mum volunteered to help out getting all the little girls ready and so began our long association from the carnival.  For many years we helped decorate the float - a mammoth task that happened the evening before the parade and sometimes went late into the night.  Whilst I was little I made many appearances on the float, in many different costumes.  As time went on, Mum actually became part of the committee which organised the whole event and I even joined during my sixth form years.  As far as I know the carnival still happens and mum and I often talk about our "carnival days".

This memory was bought to you as part of Sian's "Story Telling Story".  You can find more great stories here.

Getting back on (the blog)

Most of us will probably remember from our childhood that the hardest thing about falling off your bike, is getting back on.  And so I have found with blogging.  At the end of July when I took break, I fully intended to return before now! However the summer holidays seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, leaving little time to fit anything crafty at all.  Whilst I love the holidays as they break the routine and there is less pressure, the lack of routine is not conducive to blogging.  September would have been a logically place to start again, but I have learnt that once you have lost "that blogging feeling" it is certainly hard to find again.  

However the first of October has arrived, and it seems an appropriate place to put fingers to keyboard.  So here I am, back with you all, if you still have me, looking forward to cultivating my blogging habits once again.