My month in numbers - January.

I really enjoyed this alternative way of looking at each month last year so have decided to continue for this year also. Month in numbers is a  fabulous concept created by Julie Kirk.

January. 1/2 house colours, Matt was awarded at school.
13 blog posts.
1,000's of snow flakes fell in the Midlands.

4 new recipes tried. Macaroons, Hot cross bun bread & butter pudding, gorgeous greek chicken & rocky road.

7 types of birds spotted during our Big Garden Bird watch. £40 for a great lunch for 2 with the lovely company of my friend Jackie.
1st Anniversary on the 14th of being back home.
44. Matt's highest score during the District Explorer Scout Rifle Shooting competition which his team won.
13. The size of Dan's new rugby boots!!

Thanks for looking & why not pop over to Julie's blog to see more months in numbers x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Project Life on a Shoestring...part 1

Let me start off by saying that Project Life is an amazing concept created by Becky Higgins.

Its a great way of recording the big and small things in your life in an easy fuss free format and having completed my own version of Project Life for 2012 I have to say I'm hooked.

These are just 2 random sides taken from my 2012 album ...

But I can imagine it can look daunting to a new starter at this time of year when the PL hype is at it's highest with lots of new supplies being released and discussed. The supplies out there do look brilliant but I wanted to share with you a slightly different way of going about this project without the same expense.

I'm a scrapper & have been for a few years now & like most scrappers I've gathered some scrapping stash :) did I say some ... I think I mean loads :D So when I start something new I am tempted to go straight out & buy the supplies but I'm reluctant to spend lots on something I may not maintain plus I'm on a stash diet, in other words I need to use up what I own and PL is great for this in my opinion. In fact during the making of my 2012 PL I spent NO MONEY on specific supplies except the American Craft Albums it's housed in!!

PL is based on recording each week as a page in an album for my version I've relaxed this a little & try and record each month over 4 sides unless I have a really busy month then I'll add extra pages in.

The key equipment I used...

1. page protectors

2. 6x4 mats

3. journalling cards

4. photos and memories.
5. embellishments.

6. ephemera.

1.They sell special page protectors but in fact you can achieve a very similar look with any protectors you already own. These are the 2 types I already had in my stash.

The key to getting the same feel to your own album pages is the layout and I've achieved this by either using cardstock as my base for the 12x12 page pockets then layering this with a mixture of 6x4 mats cut from patterned paper or slotting these matts straight into the divided pockets.

2.These mats I cut from any off cuts of patterned paper I have finished with, paper I don't particularly like anymore, those scraps you just have to hang on to! or the remains of old kits and I cut them as I go & store them till I'm ready to start my pages. These  make the basis of all my pages. 

I bet you are thinking they are a little bright but they are only the base layer & end up barely visible, honest :)

I hope you like this first look into the way I scrap my families life.

Join me next week when I cover journalling cards, photos & memories x

If you have any questions please left them in the comments & I'll try my best to answer them xxx 

Are you turning Twitcher this weekend ?

My household are looking forward to our hour long bird watch later today in our garden, for the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch. This aids them to understand the UK's bird population and help identify & highlight which types of birds are in decline and help find ways to reverse this. Also we get to spend a fun hour together with a cuppa & a biscuit :)

This little fella has been a regular visitor to our garden come rain or shine x So I hope we see him and many more during our count x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Project life - November!!

I realised I'd not shared with you my project Life pages from November. As always I've crammed the pockets full of the big & the not so big things I want to remember in the future. For November i've created 4 sides which include...

 ... getting new glasses, Dan sorting his Uni application, the removal of Matts cast, bonfire night...

 ... my surgery, visits from friends, wonderful flowers & taking it easy...

... visiting the cinema, popping in on friends, using my new cameo...

 ... xmas card writing, seeing Breaking dawn, Dans first Uni offer, visit from Jackie x, visit from Kirsty :)

Hope you've enjoyed looking at these pages & I'll show you Decembers real soon x

Weather report

Usually the Midlands doesn't get too much snow which to be honest is just the way I like it!

But over the past few days we have had over 5 inches fall & it continues as I write.

The kids were happy to be out in it so they headed to Allesley Park the best place around here to sledge & play.

But the best thing about this weather is snuggling up under a blanket, watching a movie with a Hot Chocolate :)

So heres hoping it doesn't last too long & I can get these guys back to school next week x

Card Challenge

Over on the Scrapology blog its time for our monthly card making challenge. This month the challenge involved using purple, silver & lime on your card.

This is mine using off cuts of patterned paper & an old Stamping Up stamp coloured with Promarkers, finished off with a few gems.

Pop on over to the blog to see all the cards created by the team x

Celebrating x

One year ago today we moved back to our home. Now it doesn't look anything like it used to but thats OK with us. It now really feels like home & only requires some of the finishing touches you do when you've spent  plenty of time in a place. 

Heres to many more happy years here & I think it calls for a glass of bubbly :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

3rd Anniversary...

Today is the third anniversary of our house fire. I can't believe it's been that long.

Our situation is now all sorted with us back living in our newly re built home, so why do I feel so odd about this date. The series of events that started the fire can't occur again due to changes with our electricity cables but today I can't help but be transported back in time to relive moments from that fateful day, remembering the smell and the overwhelming feeling of uselessness as the situation escalated around us. Here's hoping as the years pass that this date will go by without it being remembered.

But for now... tomorrow is another day x

Focused on the Future

Using my ScrapaGoGo January "Clean Slate" kit and their Blueprint To Go sketch, I made a Lo documenting my "one little word' Focus.

My intentions are documented on a tag in the glassine envelope for future reference.

I loved this months exclusive stamp and have used it for the bunting & decorative strip on the left hand side of the page.

Do you have a word for the year ? I'd love to know what you picked.

Many thanks for looking x

One Little Word

Over the past few years I've stopped having New Years Resolutions as I hate it when I can't achieve  them & the negative vibes that brings. So for the past 4 years I've been  following Ali Edwards example of picking One Little Word to refer back to during the year. This year I've chosen...

* I want to FOCUS on spending more time visiting & chatting with family & friends.
* I want to FOCUS on making this house a home. It really needs the little extras like pictures hanging, rugs sourcing, ornaments grouping ...
* I want to FOCUS on sorting our back garden which hasn't been the same since the builders finished!
* I want to FOCUS on regaining my health and fitness after a couple of months enforced rest.

These feel very do-able to me & I will look back at this post over the coming months to remind myself of my aims.

Story Telling Sunday - Get that box...

For the very first time I am taking part in Story Telling Sunday and I have to admit I'm a little nervous. When I read the prompt, Pick your Precious, over on Sian's blog a couple of days ago, it got me thinking & I came up with a variety of ideas but when I asked my Husband he surprised me with his answer... since then I keep going back to his choice so maybe it's time to share.

It's hard to know where to start so reader please bear with me x

It is less than a week to the 3rd anniversary of a day that totally changed our lives. One of those days when you feel like you are an extra in a soap opera as it just can't be real. This was the day that our home caught fire. In true TV style we only had 3 or 4 minutes to evacuate due to the billowing, choking smoke filling our house, taking with us anything we could. After ensuring our Son was safe I had an uncharacteristic moment of clarity, calling my Husband to quickly collect a large box from a high shelf in a store cupboard. Thankfully he didn't stop & question my request as every second was valuable. All the belongings we retrieved including this box were dumped in the boot of my car where they stayed for a couple of weeks as unfortunately the situation escalated making our home uninhabitable with many of its rooms and the roof destroyed.

I bet you're thinking so what did I think was so precious? From the outside it's just an old box from a previous Christmas gift.

The real treasure is it's contents. Tucked away in neatly labeled envelopes are photograph negatives.

These negatives document our life from becoming a couple, the birth of our 3 children, up to when we went digital.

I can't truly explain why I made him save this box & was surprised I even knew where it was but I'm ever so pleased I did, as the room it was in was destroyed. Maybe it's the scrapbooker in me that realised the contents were irreplaceable, we will never really know but I was thankful in the weeks, months & years that followed that despite not having lots of the physical things people hold so dear, I had managed to save these captured moments to pass on to my children.

My apologies for the serious nature to my story if you don't already know me, I'm not after sympathy in fact I have many things to be thankful for in my life but as you can imagine it has shaped our lives in the most recent past.

Without Sian's encouragement and Story Telling Sunday this story would probably never have been told & certainly never blogged. Now I'm thinking maybe it should be a Lo too ?

Please hop on over & have a read of all the marvellous Pick Your Precious stories.

Having a play...

I've been working with ScrapaGoGo's January kit "Clean Slate" & just have to say how much I love using this months stamp.

Here is a peek of a Lo I've made using it.

This exclusive stamp can only be acquired from ScrapaGoGo's monthly kit so why not treat yourself to a subscription, you know you're worth it ;).

T is for Tags.

Now that the holidays are coming to an end are you thinking about crafting again ? If you are, over on the Scrapology blog you will find a sketch to inspire you to get scrapping using tags. This is my interpretation x

Look at You.

 I've used mainly scraps of patterned papers to create the tags plus some Pink Paislee embellishments.

Photos taken by Anna Bowkis.

Heres a couple of close ups. 

Hope you get a chance to do what makes you happy x

happy New Year x