Naptime Cuddles

Last week I did a layout for the weekly challenge over at UK Scrappers.
Part of the challenge was to use this sketch:

To use five of something and to use new stash.  As part of my New Year's Resolution was to use a kit as soon as it arrived this challenge was great for me.  My brand new Studio Calico kit had just arrived and I couldn't wait to cut into it to create this:

I'll often walk into the room and find these two snuggled up like this :)

I used these cute little velum arrows for my five things.
We are currently in the middle of a terrific hail storm so I'm going to snuggle on the sofa and watch a film with Maddie.
I hope you've had a great weekend.
Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Another New Week

But I am feeling so refreshed that I just don't care that it's back to the office today!

I had such a lovely weekend and it all started on Friday when I went on a road trip, with a couple of scrapping friends, to Eastbourne (stopping en route to shop for stash!).

On Saturday I got all my boring, horrible jobs out of the way like housework and food shopping before heading out to have dinner with some friends.

On Sunday I had a real 'me' day and got my stash out.  I'm in a sketch group and I've been so bad that I still hadn't got round to last month's sketch, that has now been rectified.

This is the sketch:

And here's my layout:

Me and my oldest friend celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee back in June.

Using papers and embellishments from Portobella Road collection, which were perfect for the event.

I hope that you had a great weekend and are looking forward to another new week.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo x

I've Finally Started

I know I've left it late, most people fly out of the starting blocks on the first day of the New Year all fired up with good intentions of masses of projects they're going to start with the fresh year.  Not me, nope, I'm more like the tortoise and ambled out and about and finally decided at the end of March that I was going to do a Document 2011 album!

Last week's sketch over on Shimelle's blog was perfect for the feature page for January and this is the photo I wanted to document:

Paul made me this for my birthday, it's pergamano and he cut, embossed and hand painted the beautiful picture.  This photo doesn't do it justice because, in real life, you look through the garland of flowers and see the rolling fields. And here's how it looks on a layout:

I wanted the layout to be bright and fun and show it was all about a celebration.

I wasn't surprised that I found ribbon to match the colour of the card he'd used because he pinched the cardstock from my stash!

In other news I had a lovely weekend, spent 2 hours sorting the garden out on Sunday but was rewarded with a beautiful card and a box of chocolates from Maddie for Mother's Day.  No bingo winnings to report which is a shame but I will try harder in future :) And finally, the best bit, Paul got a job today!!! I'm so pleased for him and proud of him and wish him lots of luck on his first day on Thursday.

Hope all is well in your world
Jo x

Summer's Started

It has been a glorious weekend here and I've had such a lovely time.  Yesterday was spent with Paul just pottering about and enjoying each other's company and today I have been scrapping.

Now I was going to cut the grass today but when I went in the garden this morning I saw these:

My favourite flower, the daisy.  Now they weren't there yesterday and only just appeared today when I went out to cut the grass, I took it as a huge sign to leave the lawnmower in the shed and find something else to do while the little daisies enjoyed the sunshine..................that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! :)

I went indoors and decided to do a bit of scrapping, I did this layout using Shimelle's weekly sketch:

A very recent picture taken last week while I was staying with Paul.  The weather was so nice that we decided to take Pippy (his gorgeous dog) down to the beach.  I used the October Afternoon Seaside range because it's so lush and so perfect for these pictures.

These beach huts were built last year so they are only slightly weathered and certainly not battered by the elements.  Just when I thought the layout was finished I found this little gem:

I know it's a bit early but I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come and we're all going to have a great summer to enjoy.

The clocks leaping forward today has made my routine go out of the window, not only did we lose an hour (maybe it was the grass cutting hour that was lost and the long lawn has nothing to do with the daisies) but today has flown by.

Time to get myself back in work mode for tomorrow morning :(

I hope you've all had a great weekend.
Thanks for stopping by.
Jo x

Ready to Relax!

I have been so busy since I last posted so this week has flown by!  Last weekend I was busy shifting furniture and I got 2 lovely new sofas.  To get the sofas in I had to remove over 60 cups that hang on hooks in my hallway, I then had to get my old sofas out which is no easy task.  Now I loved my old sofas, they were navy leather, battered and worn and you would just sink into them.....I loved them but I knew they had to go.  One of the sofas was a monster and I, with the help of my sister's partner, had to get them downstairs.  Now my stairs don't go straight down, there's a turn in the middle but, after much struggling we got them out.  The next problem we had was the dump wouldn't let me take a van in so we had to put them on the roof of my sister's car outside the dump and then hold on to them as she drove in, I just love jobsworths!  Anywhoo, lovely new sofas that I have forgotten to photo and share, I will another time (they're cream leather by the way)

Work wise I've been out on the road meeting clients and it's been exhausting but lovely.  It was awful going back into the office and trying to get through a mountain of work though!  I guess we all have to pay for the little pleasures in life :)

I did managed to squeeze in a crop this week and I actually managed to do a layout, I used the sketch on Shimelle's blog:

Maddie loves PJs, especially all in onesies.  As soon as she gets home from school she puts them on and at the weekend she lives in them and basically that's what the journalling says on the layout. 

This layout only shows one pair, I've got another 4 pairs to document!

Today I got in and did all of my boring housework so that, as soon as I wake up tomorrow, I can scrap.  In the afternoon we're (yes I am getting Maddie out of the house!) going to my friend's house for an afternoon of looking through her stash and then a lovely dinner.

I hope everyone's had a good week.

Jo xx

My Week's Nearly Over

Working week that is, tomorrow is my last day at work until next Monday and I'm so looking forward to having some time off.

Because of the great craft area Paul made me I've been able to come home, on a school night, and scrap!!!  I've done another layout from the sketch on Shimelle's blog, this week is was using a piece of die cut paper and I had the perfect paper and photo:

I love this picture of my mum and dad and it's the first picture I've scrapped of my dad since he died 3 years ago.  I remember exactly where it was taken, 20ish years ago and home when we were having a party. 

I've just put a title on, no journalling but I might add that later.  They look so happy and they were so happy and nobody could tell that Alzheimer's was just around the corner. 

I may change the title to If I Could Have...." and journal some of the words of the Luther Vandross song Dance With My Father.  We played it at his funeral but it wasn't all sadness, we really celebrated by ending on Rhinestone Cowboy (one of his favourite songs and one that the whole family would sing whenever it came on - just like the family Von Trapp!) and in the evening we had a firework display.

Sorry for a bit of an outpouring then!

This week has been full of work and headaches but I'm hoping the weather will improve so we can have a visit to the zoo, zoo, zoo, you can come too, too, too..... :)

Have a good evening.

Jo xx

A Slow Week

I'm not wishing my life away but this week is going so slowly! Last week past through my life like a steam train but this week is dragging its heals.  I have two crops to go to this week and I think that's why I want it to go quickly, it can slow down again when I leave work on Thursday :)

Every week Shimelle has been posting a sketch on her blog and, so far, I've been able to complete a layout using the sketch every week.  At the end of the year that will be 52 layouts done, I also try to do the House Challenge on UKScrappers as well as the Weekly Challenge so that is, potentially, another 64 layouts at the end of the year.  Twisted Sketches gives me possibly another 52 layouts and Sandra at GottaCraft likes to put a sketch in the crop kit......a further 24 layouts.  At the end of the year, with these alone, I could have another 192 layouts in my albums and a lot of my stash used up (yeah right, as if I'd ever get to the point where it's nearly used up!)

Enough waffle from a would be statistician, here's the layout I did this weekend from Shimelle's sketch:

Maddie keeping cool in the paddling pool before she turned into a teenager who hates showing even a millimetre of flesh!

I rewarded myself for being such a hard worker and getting paid today by ordering myself some goodies from the GottaCraft sale, there are still a few lovely goodies left there.

I'm going to have a lovely soak in the tub now while reading the most amazing book....Sister by Rosamund Lupton, I seriously cannot put it down.

Thanks for stopping by

Jo xx

A Very Busy Week

I have been so busy this week and the time has just flown by!  Luckily the weekend is going at a sedate pace but that's because I started it on Thursday night :)

A massive achievement for me this week was that I opened my post.  No big deal for most people but I have a huge hate/fear of post.  It took me two evenings to open it, sort it and file it and, once the things I didn't need were shredded (thanks to Paul) I filled the whole of my recycling wheelie bin!  Did I feel better for doing it?  YES.  I was getting fed up with seeing piles of post when I opened the front door and I couldn't fit any more of it in the bottom of my wardrobe but now it's all sorted and I have no intention of ever letting it get that bad again.

I managed a few layouts this week too which I'm really pleased about but here is one I did last weekend (I seem to be getting a back log of layouts to share!)

I used a sketch from Twisted Sketches for this, the twist was white so I think I got that covered!  The picture is of Maddie and my nephew Ryan and the occasion is Maddie's first time as a bridesmaid in 1996.  I found a file of photos I had sorted when I first started scrapping, I'd put all the pictures I wanted to scrap in envelopes with the date on and what we were doing and then I forgot all about them!  Finding them again has certainly made me want to scrap even more now and I so wish there was more time to do it. 

I wanted to keep the layout simple so, instead of using a patterned paper to represent the circle in the sketch I just drew a pencil circle and highlighted it with a little bit of bling.

I've managed to do another layout today because the work station Paul built me has just made it so easy, I can't thank him enough.

It was his birthday on Wednesday (and he still let me go to the crop) but we're putting on our glad rags and dancing shoes and going out on the town tonight........well to the social club really where a live band are playing music from the 60s, 70s and 80s.  Should be fun and I'm thinking that, at my age, I may have to go and take a nap now to prepare myself for dancing the night away :)

Happy weekend all

Jo xx

Happy Monday

Today was meant to be the happiest Monday of the year!  Mine did start that way but then went downhill very rapidly.  I had my appraisal, which was very good, and then the rest of the day went by in a blur because I was so busy.  Dashed home, swallowed dinner and went to bingo......no winnings though.

Thought I would show you one of the layouts I did over the weekend.  It's inspired by the sketch on Shimelle's blog and totally out of my comfort zone - I have never used so many patterned papers!

Maddie's first time as a bridesmaid back in 1996!  I know I really should catch up on my scrapping :) I used this months kit from Sarah's Cards and thought it was perfect.

The blues of the papers and the colour of the flower perfectly matched her bridesmaid dress.

I love, love, love these bunting stamps from Hero Arts.  They are so versatile and can be used for scrapping and card making - 15 different stamps in one pack so a bargain too.  I got mine from Gotta Craft and can't wait to use then again and again :)

Now I am tired but I'm reading a lovely book so don't know whether to sleep or read, if only all decisions were that easy.

Hope you've had a happy Monday.

Jo xx

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I loved the sketch on Shimelle's blog last week and couldn't wait to do it but everything was against me.  I printed the sketch, filled my tote bag and headed off to my crop on Thursday minus............photos!  Still had a great night and even had a go at designing some of my own sketches.

The weekend arrived at last and I set the whole of Sunday aside to scrap, no housework, no cooking, no ironing just pure scrapping.  Woke up Sunday morning with the mother of all headaches so yet again I couldn't tackle the sketch :(

Tonight I finally got my chance and for once deciding on a photo was no problem at all.  I remembered the photo, I remembered taking it and better still I knew exactly where I could lay my sticky mitts on it.

Maddie sitting on the throne of the Queen of Hearts in Disneyland Paris 1999, fun times.

I even managed to use the name of the paper range on the layout!  I got the papers on Thursday from GottaCraft and couldn't wait to use them. 

I know the layouts haven't photographed well but it's late and I wanted to get it uploaded as soon as I'd finished.

Other news this week is that I, well Paul really, spotted a bargain at a charity shop, 2 full size tripods for the camera for £2! Now I just need to give them a try.  He also spotted a great desk which he has built and altered and it's all ready to have my lovely crafty things on it.  At last my own proper scrapping area, I will share photos but I need to add a bit of bunting first :)

We're nearly midway through the week and I'm already in need of a shot of Redbull, not good!

Byeee

Jo xx