Whilst I'm away working.....

Whilst I am away at the office for the day, I thought I'd share the other photo that was on this weeks calendar.

Still the youngest, but this time with her Daddy.  This layout is based on Shimelles sketch of the week back in April, which I flipped onto its side. I do seem to love that girls sketches!  The photo was taken in August last year on our annual camping trip - we go away each year with the same group of friends.  We had spent the day on the beach and then ended on Swannage seafront to enjoy our fish and chips.   

Lets hope we enjoy some sunshine today.

Celebrating Success

On Saturday my eldest daughter took part in a local interschool netball tournament and was thrilled when her team won!

Each team member got a medal and they have got a cup that will go on display at school.  It was also the first time they had worn their new sports kit.  The old school PE kit was quite dated, and did not have the school logo on it - this one does.  I think they all felt proud to wear it and of course they all decided that it was the new kit that bought them luck.  My husband went to watch and took loads of actions shots - I can't show them because of all the other children in them but I'm thinking maybe a mini book is in order!

I think you can see in her face how pleased she was and so are we!

Also don't foget to pop over to Amy's blog to see all the pages scrapped when she threw down the challenge to scrap a story from our week.

Dressing up!

My youngest loves to dress up, especially on a school day.  Earlier in the week they had to dress as their favourite book character and she went as "Katie the Kitten" Fairy.  The character is from the "Rainbow Fairies" series of books which she is mad about and is avidly trying to collect them all.

As always, she likes to get all the details correct - the dress had to be yellow and she needed to wear a butterfly necklace and hairclips - just like the picture in the book!

All the teachers dress up too and in the afternoon, they perform a little play which they have written which incorporates all the characters - this year it included the Snowman, Cruella de Ville, Harry Potter and Cinderalla and many others!  I would have loved to have seen it, but sadly it is for the childrens eyes only.

I've made a start!

On my 2011 album.  You may remember it was one of my April goals but I didn't quite get there and so it is now one of my May goals.  Back in January I decided that I wanted to do a year long album along the lines of Document 2010 project that ran on UK scrappers last year.  So at the time I ordered an American crafts album and divided page protectors and ...... that was as far as I got.  In my defence, my scrapping was somewhat disrupted in January and February as my office was moved to the loft, and my former office/scrap room reconfigured to become a TV room as well. 


Anyway last night I was determined to start working on my album - I cleared the kids out and pushed  moved hubby from the desk and completed this page;

I surprised myself at the speed in which this came together - normally I'm a slow scrapper and often have it on my desk for ages before I will commit to sticking anything down.  I did sketch out the design first (very roughly) which is something I have never done before.  It worked well so I may well try that out again.  The trick I find for speedy scrapping is to try and have some idea of what papers and embellishments  you want, so you don't end up with everything out on the desk. ( Easier said than done I find!)  The papers and stickers are from Echo Park - Springtime.  

Opposite this page will be a page using AC divided page protectors with photos of the months events, accompanied by journalling and then another full page, showing our earth hour celebrations. However I can't show you that as I need to get the photos sent off for printing, as the quality on my home printer is no longer very good.  Once I get them done, I will show you the results. 


Then I need to work on January, February and April!

Whilst I'm away working....

So we arrived home  from Disneyland Paris late on Sunday night.  We had the most amazing time and we returned full of happy memories.  Here are just a selection;



Two very excited girls on the platform at St Pancras

Flying on Dumbo - the oldest's fave ride

Meeting Minnie Mouse ( and a few other characters as well!)

Zooming in a rocket with the youngest

Watching Daddy being a pirate!

and best of all - the parade

It truly is a magical place!

So how do you scrap over 500 pictures!  Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Whilst I'm away working......

As I reluctantly travel into London for another Wednesday in the office (I so hate working whilst the children are on school holidays) I thought you might like a glimpse of what I have got up to on Saturday.  Have you ever visited Borough Market?  No - neither had I until Saturday.  I can't say it would have been my first choice as I'm not really a foodie but it is well worth a visit.  It was frantically busy, so not the ideal place for small children in pushchairs.  The sights and smells were fantastic - I could have spent the whole day snapping photos.  Here are just a few....

I was with there with others celebrating a friends 40th birthday.  Whilst wandering around we all  bought bits and pieces and then sat outside Southwark Cathedral and had a picnic accompanied by a few glasses of fizz!  

A very pleasant way to spend an afternoon!

Whilst I'm away working.....

Yes its Wednesday again and I must away to London for work - this time staying overnight as I am going to an awards dinner.

However whilst I'm away I thought that you might like to hear about my day at Ally Pally and a wee peep at what I bought.

  

Well as you can see from the photos I snapped on my phone, the weather was absolutely gorgeous - the view from Ally Pally was fantastic.  I wish I had taken my camera, but had removed it at the last minute as I did not want my bag to be too heavy.  Anyway I digress.  I arrived about 11ish and decided to have a cuppa first before entering the hall.  I chatted to some lovely ladies who had  been in and were already laden down with bags - (it had only opened in at 10!).  So after finishing my refreshing cuppa, I took the plunge and headed in.  Boy it was busy - it was hard to get near some stands - but it did thin out around lunch time.  So would you like to see what I bought?  I thought  so.   

Ribbon, ric rack and flowers

Some paper pads and journalling pads

Sissix dies and around the page punch

I also got some pro-markers and ink pads!  I was a bit like a kid in a sweetshop because a) I do not have any craft shops near me so very rarely get to see so much stash in real life and b) I have been on a stash diet since April 2010 when my hubby was made redundant. I had money left over from the Christmas budget so decided to splurge - this will probably be it for another year.  I just can't wait for some time to play and already have a number of projects in mind.

On the way to work

On a Wednesday, I leave the comfort of my office in the loft and travel by train to the office to interact with real people.  Whilst I enjoy particpating in office life, the journey can at times be tedious and frustrating.  This morning was one of those times, with platform changes and crowded carriages.  To make it more bearable I put in my earphones and listen to happy tunes whilst catching up with all your lovely blogs on my iphone.  This brings a smile to my face, and whilst looking at my fellow commuters I am tempted to share the secret of my happiness with them!! 




Perhaps we would all smile more often if this happened whilst we were waiting for our train!  Enjoy.