Tales from the Scrapheap

Are You Feeling Lucky?

2012-01-23T18:31:00.001Z

How does a £10.00 ATDML shopping voucher sound? Sound good to you? Then pop on over to Created by ATDML and see how you can win one.

A Little Bit of Spinning

2012-01-22T14:33:00.002Z

The second homework set by Kirsty was to spin your sketch around. I decided to turn mine 90 degrees to the right but once I had done that I didn't like the vertical strips down the centre so I made them horizontal once more.

I then put the title in the space created on the top left and the journaling in the space created on the bottom right. I may even like this sketch better than the original one!

I still had many of the things I like to incorporate in my pages and instead of layering the vertical strips directly on top of each other, I moved the shorter one more towards the centre of the page.

Also I forgot to post the lovely class from Ann's crop last Saturday.

And finally, as I spent a great deal of time scrapping yesterday afternoon and evening a sneaky peek of the page I made for ATDML February DT.

This may well be my all time favourite page and features a photo snaffled from Gracia's Facebook of her and Hannah messing about. I miss those two so much.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Having done a big shop, cleaned the whole of the downstairs, done two loads of washing, done David's banking and many other little jobs yesterday - I had several hours guilt free scrapping.

2. Planning to clean the bathroom, change the beds (haven't gotten around to doing Gracia's since she went back after Christmas - bad mother points awarded to myself) I plan to spend some time making some more projects for ATDML and I have my class for the February Eclectic Keepsakes crop to get on the way.

3. My beautiful Golden Girl only has one more exam tomorrow and then she has 4 days off until she starts the second semester of her course.

Homework No 1 - Completed

2012-01-20T20:52:00.000Z

Homework no 1 completed and I am very happy with the results. I took my sketch and from my check list I have included many of my favourite techniques.

There is a tiny bit of doodling (which I forgot to add to my list)
One (very) large photo
Kraft tags
Horizontal strips across the whole of the layout
Very dimential
Journaling strips
Clustered elements
Buttons
Layering

Apologies for the rubbish photo - dark when I leave for work and dark when I get back

so taking a decent photo at any time other than the weekend is impossible!

I have loved the process of designing the sketch around the things I like on the pages I love the most and then turning the sketch into this page.

Now I just have to get the next lot of homework done before Kirsty sets us some more!

Reasons to be cheerful:-

1. It's Friday!

2. I am bathed and in my pj's and off to bed as soon as this post is finished.

3. The lay-in I am anticipating tomorrow.

Handing my homework in late!

2012-01-17T21:43:00.000Z

When I signed up for this class I got really excited and then forgot about it. For some reason I mucked up my sign in to the dedicated blog and didn't get the prompt. That was until I saw Deb's post and then I remembered I had signed up for it. Kirsty was really quick to answer my email and give me a new activation code to get onto the blog and so I can now start. The homework was to look at some of your recent pages and decide what you like about them or what design features you use a lot.

My list is as follows.

One large photo (at least 7 x 5)

Lots ofembellishments

Butterflies

Punched strips

Kraft labels,tags & tickets

Horizontalstrips across the whole of the layout.

Very dimensional

Journalingstrips

Clusteredelements

Buttons

Layering

Largecircles

So the next step was to incorporate some of these into a sketch and this is what I came up with.

So that is what I am starting with and tomorrow, hopefully, I will make a layout from it. I have really enjoyed this process and am really looking forward to seeing what the final page looks like.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. The fabulous Miss Smith.

2. Looking forward to finding time to do a little scrapping tomorrow.

3. Spending time on Saturday with a bunch of very creative ladies.

P is for Polka Dots and other things.

2012-01-08T16:32:00.000Z

I am in my crafting zone once again and finding a little time to do what I love to do best - cutting and sticking. I made a page for Ann's Thirsty Thursday spot over on Created by ATDML. This week the letter was P so I made a page featuring Polka Dots.

Also, yesterday was the EK crop and although I didn't actually start making anything until well after lunch time I managed to get two pages finished and another set out and almost finished.

As it was the first crop after Christmas and because the Christmas crop had three classes I had decided to just do a take and make and we took this

and made it into this.

Mine had cute photos in from Gracia's first Christmas up to Christmas 2011, when at 18 she still climbed into our bed on Christmas morning to investigate the goodies that Santa had left in her stocking.

I made a page about her beautiful baby blue Hunter wellies that David had bought her to go with the page I made in the Summer about her fabulously pretty flip flops.

Next week's letter for Thirsty Thursday is Q so I decided to make a quick page - 45 minutes from start to finish including journaling and title featuring a photo taken a mere 20 hours before!

I usually take anything up to 5 or 6 hours to make a page which involves lots of paper shuffling and laying on and taking off of embellishments but it was quite a revellation to me that I can make something in such a short time!

So that is how I spent my Saturday, crafting with old friends and welcoming new but also missing those friends who couldn't make it due to circumstances beyond their control. We all thought about you and missed your company - hoping you can make it next month.

Reasons to be cheerful:-

1. Gracia and Josh have safely returned to Newcastle with only a half an hour delay to their trains this time.

2. Spending time with ladies who have become very good friends over the past year and also with Eileen, my best bud of course.

3. Getting over the ache in my heart now that Gracia has returned to Uni and hoping that by tomorrow I will be able to talk about it without welling up.

Have a lovely week xxx

2012-01-06T20:54:00.001Z

Back to being a Gerdie Lass

How can three weeks fly by so quickly ? Missing you already . Safe journey xxx

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A Late Happy New Year

2012-01-02T08:17:00.006Z

I would like to wish my blog readers a late Happy and Healthy New Year.

What a busy couple of weeks we have had. We spent Christmas in Shropshire and were all due to go to the Lake District but in the end only Gracia and David went (that's a story for another day). Since getting home the days have passed in a blur and I cannot believe that I am back at work tomorrow - having accomplished not very much. I am up to the 28th on my JYC 2011 but have yet to print out and add the photos.

Have made two little felt owls, as a birthday present, for Gracia's best friend at Uni but other than that have done very little else - just catching up with the many things that get left undone during the run up to Christmas.

So I will leave you with the remainder of my December DT work for ATDML.

Looking High and Low - photographs from when we went to Marks Hall in November (not one of my favourite pages and I cannot put my finger on why)!

Another Christmas star decoration.

And one of my all time favourite pages - Wherever You Are. I loved the lyrics from this song as soon as I heard them and they touched my heart as my girlie was so far away.

Reasons to be Cheerful:

1. Going for coffee (tea in my case) with an old friend.

2. Setting aside this afternoon to get some cutting and sticking done.

3. A spare room that I can now get into and find anything I am looking for.

We wish you a Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T06:37:00.002Z

Hoping this works as blogging from my phone is a first for me!

From our family to yours - we hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that the new year brings you all that you would wish for yourself. Xxx

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Well it would seem rude not to!

2011-12-22T00:06:00.003Z

As a Rainbow Guider, an ex Brown Owl and having helped at Guides and Brownies as well as my own Rainbow pack this year I whole heartedly support anything that helps fund raise for Guiding. So when it is a combination of Guide funding and craft - what could I say but yes please! This class is just £5.00 for six weeks and the proceeds go to Kirsty's fundraising (see here).

Go on, go onto this page and click the pay now button - you know you really want to!

Hello - Remember me?

2011-12-20T07:07:00.006Z

I can't believe that It has been so long since I last blogged and the last two posts weren't proper posts then. Oh this proper job business takes up so much time! I am going to make a concerted effort to blog more as it is one of the things I enjoy doing but has had to be put on the back burner for a while. Perhaps the answer is less text and just a quick post with pictures but then I like to write about things as my blog is also my craft/daily life diary. So I am going to scatter through this and the next couple of posts the DT pieces I have made for the ATDML design team gallery.

They will not relate to any of the content of this post but will break up all the waffle!

What has been going on in our little house lately? David has spent the last two weekends in bed with migraines (any suggestions).

The fabulous Gracia Rose is home for the next three weeks - working on her studies every spare moment (nothing new there then) because she is determined to give herself the best chance she can to transfer to medicine in September. The irony is that her results were good enough for her to do medicine this year but she didn't have the confidence in herself to apply for it.

Work is still fun. Although I am doing a job that is similar to the one I did 11 years ago it is new and exciting because of the long break I have had from Marketing. We are just getting ready to start the season (it is a sailing charity) and the big push for funders and clients starts in earnest in the new year.

At home, we have been living in jumble sale conditions for far too long, the presents have yet to be wrapped, the decorations only went up yesterday, the cards were posted on Friday and my JYC 2011 has 15 pages made (each page has a 4 inch square of paper, a 3 inch square of paper and a strip of 7 Gypsies Christmas masking tape - not complicated but still not finished) of that 15 only 12 have journaling on and of that 12 only 1 has a photo so far. Looks like I have a little project to get on with during the Christmas break. So there we are. Hope your run up to Christmas is less frantic than mine.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. David's headache has gone and he is able to go out on his annual Christmas walk with his friends today.

2. My best girl is home safe and sound.

3. Only 4 more days until a nice long break, time to spend tidying the house, going for long walks with David and Kiera and maybe Gracia if she is about and just chilling with my cutting and sticking stuff.

Santa Claus is coming ...... Santa Claus is coming!

2011-12-01T06:28:00.004Z

Santa Claus is coming and I am soooooooooo excited.

So I am still here but so is a very busy job, a house that looks like we have been burgled but we haven't, although I do believe there is a time thief residing in my home, and it is the 1st December already! What do I do when I am this busy - take on two online classes of course (call me mad if you like I won't mind only agree with you). I have signed up for this class 12 days of Christmas photography and am attempting to do this class - journal your Christmas, even though last year's journal lays unfinished and unloved in a plastic baggie somewhere! Flu got in the way of that one. So a quick post with a photo of what Santa and Rudolph looks like in our house!

Reasons to be cheerful

1. I love my new job despite the long journey and longer days.

2. I have a husband who puts up with the 'jumble sale' look I have achieved in the house over the past few weeks.

3. It's nearly the weekend and I am so excited about the Christmas Crop!

Only Three Places Left!

2011-11-22T06:29:00.004Z

Today episode is brought to you by the letter K!

2011-11-17T19:12:00.004Z

Oh how I loved Sesame Street when Gracia was little and because Created by ATDML has the letter K for their Thirsty Thursday challenge this week and because I made a layout for it and because said layout was scraplifted from 'the other Karen' today is certainly brought to you by the letter K.

Karen's layout

And my layout

- you may have caught a glimpse of it being made in my last post. I have to say that scraplifting is such a quick thing. Why don't you have a go at scraplifting Karen's page and then link to the Created by ATDML blog to be in with a chance of winning a prize?

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Although I don't want to make the effort to go out, when I get back from doing the soup run I will have a warm bed to climb into, which is more than the poor souls who come along for the free food have!

2. It only took me 50 minutes to get home from work today rather than the predicted 60 :)

3. Cheese and potato pie for tea - it always brings back happy memories of my nana who used to make it for me.

In Praise of Wonderful Weekends.

2011-11-14T02:28:00.004Z

Well, this was the weekend. The one we have waited seven long weeks for. The weekend that Gracia came home for a visit. The weekend that lived up to expectations and went over and above all that we could have hoped for.

We drove to Peterborough, on Friday, to pick her up and even though it was twenty to eleven she looked so bright and perky that it filled our little hearts to bursting point to see her so well.
On Saturday, she slept in and then
as she had requested, we went to Sainsburys for breakfast
We visited the school where I used to work and Gracia attended from year 4 to year 6. The school was celebrating its 100th birthday.
I then took her to Eileen and Hannah's house to spend the rest of the day with Hannah and Sophie, who also hadn't seen each other for seven weeks.
Eileen and I had to celebrate the return of our girls by going to the local craft store for some retail therapy!
I then had to document Gracia's return home by scrapping it - well it would seem rude not to!
Today, I baked 3 dozen cupcakes, 2 dozen cookies and 6 apple crumbles for Gracia and Josh to take back to Uni with them. This was done while Gracia sat in the kitchen with me and revised. It was so like old times.
This afternoon, we went to Marks Hall for a walk and the obligatory cup of tea and cake.
When we got home we only had a couple of hours before Josh's parents picked her up to take her to Peterborough station. So as I write this it is 2:35am on Monday morning and thanks to British Rail the kids are still on the train. Signal failure somewhere so they got their train at 8:15 and have yet to arrive in Newcastle! I so hope it doesn't put them off coming home regularly.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. We cannot believe how happy and healthy Gracia looks. We kept commenting to each other how fit and well she is.

2. A weekend spent with family and friends is hard to beat.

3. The absolutely gloriously sunny afternoon we had at Marks Hall.

From This to That Part 2

2011-11-08T06:40:00.004Z

Well, here is part two and it features my two favourite projects of last week. First up is the absolutely gorgeous scrap catcher that Jane taught at the Eclectic Keepsakes crop on Saturday. By the end of the afternoon almost everyone had one of these little beauties dangling from their scrap space and can you believe it - some had even started using them for paper scraps! They were just so easy to make, especially with the comprehensive instructions that Jane supplied and even Denise who claims not to have sewn since leaving school had made a perfect scrap catcher. Now here's the deal, Jane has a few spare kits that are for sale at £7.50 including p&p. All that is needed to finish the scrap catcher is 250gms of red lentils to fill the bag that holds the catcher onto the table. If you would like a kit, email me at eclectickeepsakes@btinternet.com.

Now on to my other favourite project from last week - Jane's beautiful Christmas Mini Album.
The book cover was constructed from 3 pieces of chipboard which had a hidden magnet in the cover and another in the tab. The whole book was made using MME Lost and Found Christmas and it was just so gorgeous in its sparklyness. The book had 8 folded pages and the whole concept and construction was just genious. So without further ado here it is.
It is such a shame that the sparkle cannot be conveyed in the photos but imagine that all the red is glitter and you will get some idea of how beautiful this little album is. The idea is to put this year's photos and journaling into this ready made little beauty, making documenting the Christmas period much easier.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Finding 30 minutes each morning, before work, to finish this little book of gorgeousness.

2. That my blog readers have the patience to plough their way to the end of a very long and picture heavy post.

3. 3 more sleeps until my girl is home for the weekend.

From That to This - Part 1

2011-11-06T08:18:00.014Z

Well, I have so much to show and tell, rather than bore the pants of you I will do two posts - two posts in one week I hear you cry, what on earth has happened?

As you will know, if you have read the previous post, I went to the ATDML retreat last weekend and brought home many, many unfinished projects. I have been slowly working my way through them and the one I finished first was Jane's Christmas Mini Book. A Book so luscious and beautiful that it deserves a post all of it's own. So that will feature in 'From That To This- Part 2', which I will schedule for Wednesday.

So, on to what I have created. On Thursday the lovely Eileen paid me as visit, as is her wont on a Thursday evening. We skyped Gracia who had not 1, not 2 but 3 young men in her room causing havoc, trying out her lotions and creams and generally annoying her, and guess who was the ringleader - Josh! We also did a bit of cutting and sticking. I took this (Ann's class from the retreat)and made it from that

to this.

Where has that little ball of fluff disappeared to? I can't believe those photos were taken over 5 years ago.

Yesterday was the day of our monthly Eclectic Keepsake Crop. Most of us mixed medium crafted, some making mini books, some making Christmas cards, some making scrapbook pages and most of us making a fabric mini table bin, a class taught by the very talented and very modest Jane. This will also be featured in FTTT - Part 2.

The cupcakes of the day were Lemon Meringue (sorry Deb I know you like lemon and couldn't make the crop and we so missed you and your perky little penguin) and Apple and Cinnamon.

I have decided that I would like to make some of my favourite digital pages into paper versions and so tackled two from last year. The first one I made from that to

this.

I made 8.5 x 11 so that I could print the journaling straight onto the cardstock and then cut out the embellishments on my Craft Robo - oh how I love that little piece of technology. I use it so often and it is so versatile. My one is one of the original ones and I got it second hand for £20.00 a bargain that I am forever grateful for. Thank you to Jill who pointed out, just in time, that I had missed an e out of Sheffield. The perils of putting a title on from the last letter to the first!

The second page I made was almost a direct lift of the original. So it went from that

to this.

I printed out the flowers and decoupaged them onto the page. Used white rub-ons on the Kraft cardstock and also printed out the title using the original digital alpha. I added a little Tim Holts journaling ticket and some pearls and it was finished.

So there we are projects that I have finished this week, other than Jane's mini - the best is yet to come I assure you!

Reasons to be cheerful:-

1. My girl is coming home for a visit on Friday - Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

2. A day spent with very good friends, all happy doing our own thing.

3. A puppy that has grown into a wonderful, devoted and gentle dog.

The weeks are just rushing by!

2011-10-31T21:32:00.003Z

First of all an apology to all my blog friends - I have had to call a blog amnesty as I have been so busy this week that I could not face the 163 blog posts I came home to yesterday and so marked them all as read and started afresh today.

I never thought I would have a week as busy and as enjoyable as I have had the past week. I have been to an amazing choral concert in London in a church called St James Garlichythe and then for a reception at Dyer's Hall, both such fabulous buildings.

Spent the weekend at a scrapping retreat,

I have taught a class to 30 ladies, who seemed to like what I had designed and taken six classes. Now that is a tale to tell! So how much did I get done? True to form, from 8:00 Friday until 6:00 Sunday afternoon I managed 1 finished class, 1 layout of my own and a little present for Gracia.

So on Friday I took a beautiful class taught by Mel and it was a mini-book.

This is how far I got!

On Saturday I took a layout class with Susanne and I managed to finish it :)

During the day I also managed to make this layout - when I got the photo printed in Sainsburys the boy on the photographic counter asked me "Why have you go a random photo of someone's feet?" I thought to myself "You're obviously not a scrapbooker or it would be obvious!"

I also made this

I am so pleased as I had it in mind for a long time in fact ever since I made her the G. I am going to send it to Gracia nearer to Christmas for her room at Uni and sincerely hope it will become a treasure she gets out each Christmas.

On Sunday I took a class by Jane and it was the most scrumptious and sparkly Christmas album - truly and absolutely gorgeous. I got this far! no pages and no embellishments in yet.

I then took another class by Susanne - a Christmas star. Guess what, yet another unfinished project. I managed to get the star constructed but none of the beautiful decorations that Susanne had on hers.

On to my third class of the day and yet another beautiful mini book. This time designed by Karen and it was made to record things you are grateful for. By this time in the afternoon, after lunch and two previous classes I was just grateful to be still standing! I loved the book but this is as far as I got.

It was now time for my forth class of the day and I am ashamed to say I bottled out of this one. It was the one I had been most looking forward to but by 4:15 was absolutely dead on my feet. I took the class pack and instructions and thus far it hasn't even made it out of the poly bag.

The plus side is that at the crop on Saturday I will have plenty to do and won't even have to pack as my bag is still packed from the weekend.

While I was at the crop I sat next to Christine, who also came with me to the Tim Holtzy frame with bits and bobs in that I made in August. We sat next to each other in several classes and have to say at times we were snorting with laughter. It was such a pleasure to find someone with a similar sense of humor and someone who shares my total lack of craft skills when in a class. We managed to cut paper wonky, I managed to drop double sided tape onto a piece of patterned paper that I needed and my first lot of shrink plastic butterflies for Susanne's class came out looking more like the chrysalis that the butterfly came out of than the butterfly itself. But the funny thing was that even when we took classes separately we still managed to make some mistake or other. I love Christine's company and hope to share time at a retreat with her again!

So that was my busy, busy week and this week doesn't look any easier. I have agreed to help with the Guide unit on Wednesday evening and am curious to see how I cope going from Rainbows to Guides in one huge leap. I am sure Natalie has it all planned beautifully and I will enjoy it but it will be very different - or maybe not.

Have a fabulous week.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. I am sitting here listening to David play his cello as I type and it is such a relaxing sound.

2. Spending a weekend with friends old and new.

3. A little bit of crafting before I turn in for the night.

Have I shown you?

2011-10-23T15:14:00.007+01:00

At the moment I am struggling to find time to create very much other than what is absolutely essential. I seem to have so many other things that are pulling on my time that blogging and scrapping come a very poor last :( .

Next weekend will see somewhat of a change though because I am going to a retreat at Stoke by Nayland Golf Club organised by Mel and Jill from ATDML. Although, I cannot get there for the start on Friday, I have not been in my new job long enough to take a day off (but I do have a cunning plan - ops turned into Baldrick again!) I am booked in for a class at 8:30pm. Then on Saturday I have another class at 9:30am, then I am teaching my class at 3:30 - Eeeeeek and have 4 classes booked for Sunday. So I am looking forward to meeting up with girls I haven't seen in ages, old friends and hopefully making some new ones.

So thinking about ATDML reminded me that I very rarely put my work for them on my blog. Today is the day that it changes and I am going all the way back to April when Mel and Jill sent me some beautiful Bo Bunny Timepiece to play with. So without further ado I present my April DT pieces ........................................................................... drums roll and trumpets toot .......

Bound by Love - My mother and father in law on their wedding day.

The white doilies are the plastic packaging from the Prima flowers cut out and up-cycled.

A little Memory Book of my mum and dad.

Not long after they met - I think she was determined to get her man in those shorts!

When they got engaged.

Married.

With me (the baby) and my big brother.

Time Flies

How can that tiny scrap be Gracia?

Its Time To Say - Birthday Card

Our Home (with some very old photos of the cottage)

With journaling behind the door.

Well, I think that is the fastest I have ever compiled a blog post! Now I must get on with sorting out my stuff for next weekend and start thinking about getting sorted for work tomorrow.

Wishing you the most stupendous of weeks.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Although I have less time - changing jobs was so the right thing to do.

2. Gracia went to Durham Cathedral and took Holy Communion there. I am so pleased that her faith has followed her to Newcastle.

3. Very much looking forward to a trip to London on Thursday, with work, to listen to a choral concert and then going for 'nibbles, to Dyers Hall afterwards. Ooooh look at me mixing with the posh people!

Giving Mr Tim Holtz and his inky inks a workout!

2011-10-16T15:40:00.007+01:00

My best bud Eileen and I always used to have a cup of tea on Thursdays after school. Eileen has Thursday off from work and it was a day that suited me to pop round. But going to work for longer hours and much further away has put paid to our little afternoon tea sessions.

See we really shouldn't be allowed to see each other
we can't be trusted to be sensible! (Blue tongues after sucking blue M&Ms)

So we came up with a cunning plan, (far better than any Baldrick would come up with) as David goes out on a Thursday night we decided that it would be a jolly jape if Eileen came round on Thursday evenings. This has proved to be very successful as we now have far more time than before and a host of options to take up. For example three weeks ago Eileen played with some pretty paper and glue and I sorted out the digital bit for the remaining LSNED pages on my laptop. We spent a happy evening drinking tea and chatting. The week before last we decided that we would watch Pirates of the Carribean 4 instead of playing with paper and we both really enjoyed that option. This week Eileen and I both played with some paper. In fact, as promised, I played with white card, acrylic paint, stamps and Mr Tim Holts's very inky inks AND I didn't need rubber gloves or therapy!

At the last crop Sue (see this post) taught us how to use the inks that we had all bought and never knew what to do with them. She demoed a fantastic technique and I was inspired to have a go. If you wish to know how to produce the lovely things Sue does read Sandie's post here where she gives detailed instructions. Well I inked and stamped and stamped and inked and then inked some more and was absolutely delighted with the results, I even inked the ribbon for the bunting. I was enjoying my self so much that I had to text Sue to say I was having a go and really excited with the outcome. I cut my pieces of inked card into pennants,

punched out butterflies and made a journaling mat. I then constructed the layout using the papers from the class kit.

I had chosen a photo of myself (not because it so flatteringly shows how wide my nose is or how many wrinkles I have) taken in our kitchen as the orange paint effect on the walls is similar to the pattern on the paper.

I am so delighted with the technique that Sue taught us that I certainly will be getting my fingers inky again very soon. In fact I am investigating buying some new stamps - I never thought that those words would ever be seen on my blog!

Have a super week.

Reasons to be cheerful.

1. Being able to text Gracia the story of how I spent a frustrating 10 minutes wondering round ASDA car park this morning looking for my car only to realise that I had in fact taken David's one shopping. Once I had remembered I found that one in seconds.

2. The window for our bedroom (the one that we haven't been able to use for the last 8 years) is being made, as I type - so being able to move out of the smallest bedroom in the house into the largest looks like it may be on the cards soon, ok lets be realistic - in the next couple of years!

3. Anticipating Downton Abby tonight.

Adapting to Change

2011-10-09T16:24:00.005+01:00

Well, the week has simply flown by, without much crafting :( but Eileen and I did manage to make the time to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 4 on Thursday. As my new job involves sailing (not me I hasten to add) and one of the boats does look awfully like a pirate ship my mission is to get Jonny Depp to come on board dressed as Captain Jack - please excuse me while I swoon quietly in the corner!

I have yet to get used to getting home at 5:30/6:00 instead of 3:30 as I did before but I am loving the change.

Yesterday was our crop day. I was very laxed and didn't get my camera out once! So no photos of the cupcakes (lemon sponge with orange cream cheese icing) and even worse than than, no photos of the fabulous class that Sue taught. Sue can take a plain piece of cardstock and turning it into an amazing creation - take a look at this blog post. I was in a funny old mood - missing my girl and stressing about something that was out of my control! So didn't attempt the class but am really looking forward to using my class kit to make it at the first chance I get. I have a class for the ATDML retreat to get finished this week but once that has been done Mr Tim Holtz and your inky inks you just look out!

All I have to show for a whole day is this page.

Have an absolutely wonderful week.

Reasons to be cheerful:-

1. Sue - she showed us such a fantastic technique and everyone (but me) produced really lovely pieces of art.

2. Loving my new job.

3. My girl has booked a train home for the first weekend in November - Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

It's the final count down!

2011-10-02T12:11:00.006+01:00

I went to the little crop yesterday and had a wonderful time with the big girls and the Divine Miss E. As my girlie is in Newcastle I see it as my mission to spoil Little Miss E a little whenever I see her because every momma has to have a girlie to spoil, even if that girlie belongs to someone else!

At the crop I managed the final 11 (yes I did get a bit behind at the end of the project) pages for my LSNED mini book and also made a card for a certain someone's birthday tomorrow, so can't show this as yet.

So here we go (with apologies for the length of this post)

Gracia took her UKCAT test and passed with flying colours, was there any doubt she would?

It was time to say goodbye to Hannah, although I celebrate that she has been Gracia's best friend for over 10 years she has also been my 'other' daughter for just as long.

Cases packed and ready for the first part of our journey to Newcastle - I truly wanted to hide these cases so she couldn't go!

Traveling to mum's took longer than expected due to the 2 1/2 hour traffic jam we found ourselves in.

After deciding to walk into Newcastle - 40 minutes, we then couldn't find our way back to Gracia's flat - over an hour back.

I have a love/hate feeling for this photo, love it because it celebrates Gracia's independence and self assurance and being able to move so far away and hate it for exactly the same reasons.

After nagging her for as long as I can remember to tidy her bedroom. An empty and tidy bedroom reminds me that sometimes you don't always want what you wish for!

Making myself late for work because I just had to go back for my camera and take a photo of this beautiful web.

Remembering that sometimes for my own sanity I get up early just to be creative and start the day in a good way.

As I opened the gate to drive the car out I noticed the leaves and berries on the ground and realised that Autumn was really here.

Starting and ending the month with a bunch of flowers - one to celebrate getting a new job and the other as a leaving present. So after 11 years I am moving onto pastures new - exciting but very scarey.

When I got home from the crop I made the covers and used a bind it all wire to hold it all together.

The book is so fat that I had to thread all the pages onto the wire and pinch it together by hand.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. Harvest festival in church this morning was so good.

2. I have tomorrow off before starting my new job.

3. The girl is loving Newcastle and all her new friends.

Shimelle's Sketch of the Week

2011-09-28T05:47:00.004+01:00

Just a little scrapping therapy.

I used two very out of focus and poor photos but they capture the the kids departing for their summer adventure and returning after 5 weeks away.

I used this sketch from Shimelle

I tried to stay true to the sketch but am not comfortable with the amount of white space there still is. My page tells of how Gracia has matured and grown over the summer and the beginning of her next adventure at university.

Reasons to be cheerful:-

1. The Great British Bake Off - love that tv program.

2. A crazy deal at Sainsburys which resulted in my buying £24.00 of food for £10.00!

3. My girl is happy, has loads of new friends and thoroughly at home and enjoying herself in Newcastle.

My Geordie Lass!

2011-09-26T07:04:00.004+01:00

Well, this was the weekend and it all went so smoothly (discounting being in a traffic jam for 2.5 hours on Friday). We moved our little girl to Newcastle and are now home alone. She has already made friends with her flatmates and when we dropped her back into Newcastle town yesterday lunchtime, left us with hardly a backward glance. She was off to meet her new friends and embark on her new life and we are so immensely proud of her.

What tosh to call this the angel of the north - it cannot claim that name any more because a new angel of the north has arrived!

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. David who drove for a total of 16 hours over the weekend without a single complaint (well not about driving - there were maybe a few about the map reading and sat nav).

2. We left our girl with joy not sadness in our hearts because this was the right choice for her and she is so looking forward to the next chapter in her life.

3. Skype!

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Words of Wisdom

2011-09-24T11:55:00.002+01:00

With the imminent departure of Gracia to university, I have put together a little goodie bag with sweets, toiletries, a 6 x 6 frame with a scrap page of the three of us but also wanted to give her a little surprise mini album that would make her smile and give her some subtle advise. Who better to turn to than Dr Seuss? These are the first books I read independently, the books that made me fall in love with reading and rock with laughter until my sides ached.

Unfortunately, Gracia's generation have missed out on Dr Seuss books so when I give her the little mini book it will be all new to her. I am seriously considering buying her some Dr Seuss books for Christmas.

So here is my 'Wisdom of Dr Seuss'.

I also cut two acetate pages and put a white rub-on on each of them.

For this page I made a little pocket and tag.

I wished I had used this paper for the front

but hey-ho you live and learn.

So it is the beginning of a new era, my gorgeous, talented, bright and beautiful, sensitive girl is off to embark on the next chapter of her life. I haven't packed yet for our trip to take her as by packing I am acknowledging that she is going away but I will have to get on and do it very soon. My house is full of boxes and new pretty things to make her room look nice and her bedroom is so empty that it hurts my heart to go into it.

Well I must get off to pack now and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Reason to be cheerful:

That we are the proud parents of one awesome girl. Take care, stay safe and have fun my darling baby xxxxx

Up To Date!

2011-09-20T21:48:00.004+01:00

I have finally caught up with my LSNED mini book and managed to make my page for yesterday in a very short time before work this morning.

So with no further ado let me give you 15th which found me entertaining a couple of friends from work and vowing that we must entertain more often.

On the 16th I drove to the orthodontist for one of our last appointments for Gracia's retainer to be checked and, as always, the elephant garden ornament made me smile. It was really strange to see this elephant with frozen squirts in the winter.

Going for a cooked breakfast to Sainsburys, with Gracia, is always fun but today she decided, of her own accord and with absolutely no coercion from me I must add, to don this pirate hat for a photo for Rinda's photo scavenger hunt.

The 18th brought the realisation that I must always check my footwear before leaving the house. We both take the same size shoes and have the same make of walking boots. Funnily enough there was a pair almost the same as the ones I am wearing at home!

The 19th was the day our Ivy was covered in beautiful butterflies taking the nectar from the flowers. It reminded me how beautiful nature is and of a hymn we sang in church on Sunday.

Reasons to be cheerful:

1. My blog friend Deb's health seems to be on the mend.

2. Spending the evening with Gracia making calendars for her friends.

3. My girl did so well on her UKCAT test and now has every qualification she needs to transfer from Biomedical Science to Medicine, if she wishes, next year.