My month in numbers - Feb x

Gosh where did February go ?? Here is my Month in Numbers, a great alternative way of recording your month devised by the lovely Julie Kirk x

February.

12 - Harriet's age on receiving  her Scout Gold award. A real achievement xxx

431- photos Matthew took on a 4 day school trip to Berlin.

18-8 - Final score of the annual Bablake V. Henrys school rugby match with Dan as vice captain of the winning team. Doesn't he look pleased !!!

1- new recipe tried - Jamie's 15 minute beef stroganoff.

24- red roses for valentines day.

11- blog posts this month.

5- nights away scrapping.

220- miles driven to see our 5th - Cirque de Soliel - Kooza at the Royal Albert hall, London.

6 -Nations.

Dan watched England beat France 23-13 at Twickenham as part of a packed crowd.

Got to be in it to win it !

Over at ScrapaGoGo they are offering the most wonderful prize worth over £250 to celebrate their 10th Anniversary GoGo Getaway.

Pop on over to the forum to check out all the details on how you can be in with a chance of winning x

Be quick as winners will be drawn on Sunday 24th March.

Tweets & Twitters

Yesterday I atended a workshop at the Bramble Patch, a quilting shop about an hour a way from me. I'd only been once before but is well worth visiting regularly as it stocks vast amounts of beautiful fabrics :)

Anyway, this workshop was taught by Angie Hughes & was a fun day with each of us making a quirky bird.

Everyone completed at least one bird whilst we were there. We had a relaxed time drinking tea & chatting whilst sewing. These are all made from the same pattern but all look so different x

They run lots of workshops throughout the year & I'd certainly do another. I have the pattern for my bird so I can see an epidemic of them soon :D

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Do you have any WIP's ?

...or is it me ?! 

I'm a real sucker for a new pattern & pretty coloured wool!Thats not a problem I know but the issue with that is the half started stuff or Work In Progress's I'm left with, tidied away feeling unloved are a couple of different cushion covers, a hook holder, wrist warmers... to name a few. How do I stop this habit of starting something new. 

I'm very taken with this pattern I saw in a magazine & I think it will look great in the spring.

Here's hoping it gets finished so I can wear it !! Do you get the same problem & is there a cure ?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Scapology, Silhouette & Valentines...

Over on the Scrapology blog today you will find loads of card inspiration using transparent as it's starting point.

I used a silhouette file to cut out the shape for this card & then I sewed acetate over the top of the bulb by hand to give it that transparent glass look of a light bulb.

The recipient was thrilled with his card.

I also made this valentine card too using another silhouette file & I'm really pleased with the result.

 Pop over to the blog to see lots of other great examples xxx

Happy Valentines Day x

This months ScrapaGoGo kit "Nearest & Dearest" certainly has a soft romantic feel to it so I thought it would be ideal for scrapping a photo of the flowers I was given last year.

From the white cardstock I hand cut 6 polaroid frames then embellished them with lots of bits & pieces from this kit including the pink roses, flowers from the gold doily, hybrids and the phrase from the manufacturers strip. My title was cut from the Authentique Lovely Greeting paper.

To add a little softness to the design I added paint splashes & flowers punched from off cuts.

Here the sun is shining & the skies are blue and hope you are having a lovely day today x

Day Tripper...

Last weekend we travelled to London to see this Cirque Du Soleil show - Kooza. We are kinda hooked on these shows after seeing our first one in Florida in 2008 & this was the 5th show we've now seen.

To make the performance even more magical it was held at the Albert Hall.

 We had seen it from the outside before but none of us had ever been inside & boy it doesn't disappoint. It did however feel smaller inside than it looks on the TV! & I'm glad we were not on the balcony as it looked too steep to me !

 We all had an amazing time & would really recommend these shows x

December - Project Life x

Apologies in advance for this photo heavy post but December was a busy month for us as I'm sure it was for you & so to get everything in to my Project Life album I did 6 sides :)

My pages include...

... seeing the coke truck, crop day class, ESU xmas party...

...german xmas market trip, B'ham bull, lunch at Jamie's Italian, movies...

 ... Dan is 18!!!, 12.12.12, panto & raffle win...

... Barncrafters lunch, Network dinner, xmas biscuits, decorating Christmas trees...

 ...Christmas day, stockings, dinner, Hobbit movie...

 ...sales shopping, visiting family, friends visiting us, NYE games night...

I loved doing this project over the past year & am already working on this years book but I have noticed I've produced less layouts last year than ever before so will need to keep that in mind as I enjoy 12x12 too.

Project Life on a shoestring ...part 2

Welcome to week 2 of my take on Project Life. I want to concentrate on journalling cards, photos & memories in this post.

Journalling cards.

You can buy ready made journalling cards in 3x4 size for your albums but I prefer a cheaper/handmade version for my pages. One place of note is Pinterest as free digital cards are available from generous designers for you to print out at home if you have the facilities. 

You can totally make your own cards using either plain or lined card...

and decorate with paper scraps & punches...

and stamps...

and washi tape and stamps...

The sky's the limit really as you look through the stash you already have. One point to consider, I tend to go for flatter stash for my PL albums to make them less bulky. These little cards are ideal for using up scraps or for making in the evening or at a crop. Why don't you give them a try.

Photos.

I tend to use photos which are 6x4, 4x3, 4x4 & 2x3 but that is because I can print my own at home. You can crop larger photos down to use to create more interest & help tell your story.

Memories.

I don't always get a chance to work on my album every week, so to make sure I don't miss out something important I keep a list on my phone of things as they happen to refer back to later when I'm working on that month. This is particularly useful for times that have no photos or quoting something funny that was said... Find a way that works for you.

Come back next week  when I'll be talking about embellishments & ephemera x

Storytelling Sunday - My Precious 2

Last month was the first time I'd taken part in this monthly blog story telling & sharing created by Sian. Not only did I enjoy writing my own, which was a total surprise to me, I also loved reading the stories of others & over a couple of days I read over 35 stories, all so different but all so precious.

This month I want to share with you these little guys.

After many years wrapped in kitchen roll & stored in an old margarine tub these little critters now have a permanent home out on display for all to see.

They remind me immediately of the hours and hours spent as a child kneeling up staring through the glass at a huge collection of these glass animals my Gran had in a cabinet at her home. I particularly remember an octopus with it's fine tentacles curling & a seal balancing a beach ball on his nose.

I have no idea why she collected them or where they came from but these 3 were given to me after she died and are a precious reminder of her & the happy times spent at her house during my childhood, as she sadly passed away when I was 17.

If you look carefully you can see some of them on the top shelf in this cabinet beside my cousin (I'm the middle one !)in this photo taken in January 1970.
Do pop over to Sians blog to read more precious stories.

Scrapology & Silhouette masks

Over on the Scrapology blog today you will find loads of inspiration using both a fabulous sketch & a craft product I'd never used before - texture paste.

Together.

I really enjoyed making this Lo which is rather different from my usual style.

I wanted clouds on the background to go with the outdoor feel, in texture paste but didn't have a template so I used my silhouette to cut one from cardstock using a file I purchased from the silhouette store & after manipulating the cloud shapes to where I wanted them, it worked perfectly.

I certainly would use my Silhouette for this again x