Sunday, February 27, 2011

Project 12


I did this last year but only got as far as Febrary. Lets hope I get a bit further this year. I loved the first sketch though. Please excuse photo, how do you manage to photograph a double LO and get it straight??

DCWV Nana's Kitchen stack, Core denations Cream and Sugar, Free digi calendar off net, rest from stash.

Quick template


Just a quick digi using a free template for the challenge over on 2peas.

I have used bits from digi kits all over my hard drive so please dont ask me to credit, but thank you to all the designers who helped me put this together.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Poor Kelly/stupid cars

Yesterday Kelly and I were booked into an all-day crop at Pickleberry Crafts. Both Kate and Jane were away to Stitches and to hold hands with Sir Tim while those of us left at home got to play in the shop and workshop. Both Kelly and I were really looking forward to it, mainly because it has been so long since we have seen each other but also because Kelly and Ol have been decorating again and all her scrap stuff has been packed away again.

At 9.45, just as I was about to leave for Faversham, she texted me to say she was stuck on the M25 with a flat tyre. They were not members of the AA but Ollie was trying to get them to turn out. Dissappointed I continued to the crop expecting her to still turn up, all be it a bit late.


Poor Kelly, it was chucking it down with rain and due to Health and Safety stupidity she had to sit on the bank in freezing wet weather, waiting not for a repair guy but for the flat truck to remove her car from the motorway. Apparently it is now illegal to change a tyre on the hard shoulder. (New one on all of us!). Then she had to wait for the second AA man to turn up with the tyre changing equipment because H&S now state they can not use the equipment supplied with the car (even though it is likely to be the stuff specific to that car) because they havent had training. Strike minus 1 for common sense. Infact since the most likely cause of breakdowns on the motorway are going to be blow-outs, strike minus 2 for common sense since the flat back truck driver doesnt carry basic equipment.


Eventually at 12.20 pm Kelly phoned me to say she now had to go and buy a new tyre as the spare was not safe for speeds over 50mph or for great distances, so she would not bother coming to the crop as aside from being soaked and frozen, she was also very grumpy and fed up, and broke to boot since they had had to pay full AA membership (no using Sainsbury Staff discounts for damsels in distress) and a new tyre for the stupid foriegn car with alloy wheels.


On the bright side, I did manage to get 2 and a half layouts finished. In the end there was only one other lovely girl and the lady keeping shop for Kate at the crop so although we did chat, there werent too many distractions - well apart from all the eye candy in the shop that we had to go look at and feel every once in a while.

Creative Scrappers sketch no.142 pp October Afternoon, Websters pages decorative stripe, lace and trim from Pickleberry Papercrafts, Prima flowers, Liquid Pearls Lemon Yellow, thickers, studio g stamps, journaling spot free from Karen Grunberg

I would also like to enter this Layout for Desert Island Crafts Srap challenge #2 as I used only 1 pattern paper (it was double sided so I cut the border in the middle from the same paper, the colour red, and sparkle in the liquid pearls.




Creative Scrappers sketch no 143
More October Afternoon, Jenny Bolin Butterfly, Lace from Pickleberry Papercrafts, Cosmic Shimmer mist

Again I would also like to enter this for Desert Island Crafts Srap challenge #2 My three things being; Movie or Book Inspired, Button, sparkle (both on the butterfly and the shimmer mist).

Just after Kelly phoned Louise who was holding the fort went out for a quick fag, the phone went and the answer phone picked up so we could all hear the lady on the other end. She left us in fits of giggles as she told us she was from Sittingbourne, all her family had gone away to Scotland, she had to go out to buy dogfood and she just wanted to know if the shop was open. If it was shut could someone ring her and say so. If not she was coming over for a visit!


The lady in question arrived at ten to two, with her poor husband in tow, talked the hind legs off a donkey, told her other half in no uncertain terms to go sit in the car and read his paper, and finally (after the poor guy had dragged her out the shop twice) left at twenty to four!!!


Martin was on a late shift so when I got home I got to complete two of the layouts I had started and play with my new Woodware fingerguard trimmer. Then I watched another of my Lovefilm dvd's - our aim is to get through as many films as we can during the free trial period, and then was pleasantly surprised by late guests when Laura and Wayne turned up at just after 9.

A mixed start to my week off for half term.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Fading away.....

Far from keeping up my blog this year it looks like it is slowly fading away .......

OK well lets get that put right with a really long and boring post!!

Firstly things I am not doing - I have given up with The Joy Of Love photos since none of my loved ones are ever about or willing to co-operate, but mainly because some of the suggestions simply were not things I wanted to take photos of (sorry KW).

Things I have done - I have read the class notes for the new free Big Picture class, Embrass perfection. Its all about how not to get hung up and slowed down in your scrap booking due to the need for perfection. Since this is not something I have ever worried about, knowing full well that no matter how hard I might try, nothing I ever stick down is ever going to end up straight, I am actually quite enjoying the fact that hopefully by the end of it, I will be the norm and not the acception! I love Karen's style and hopefully next week we will get some actual LO workshops too.

I have bought a new ATG gun (mine fell off the table and the hinges on the casing snapped) and spray painted it!! Not pink, like everyone else. I nearly did but then as I stood in B&Q about to pick up my purchase I suddenly thought why not choose the colour I want and not what is expected. Hence the lovely turquise!! There are a couple of places where the masking wasnt as good as it should have been and some of the glue from the masking tape still needs cleaning off properly but I am very pleased with the results. I may still add some personalised bling though.




I am now sharing my craft room with lots of up and coming veggie plants as the seeds I planted last week indoors to make a head start on the growing season germinated in a mater of mear days! I chose to ignore the bit that said keep them in the dark though and some of them are a bit leggy but I have shut the curtains now and hope they will be ok.




I have had a couple of trips to Hobbycraft to mop up what might be left in the sale. Yesterday I bought a decal for my lappie. Thanks to ebay Lappie is also happy with the new docking station and is no longer running as hot as it was when flat on the craft table. I am still waiting for a set of stickers to tart up the keys as the letters are all but gone now.



Things I have still to finish - I have now crocheted two sleeves and the bottom cable of my jacket. WOW a really big achievement for me. I am half way through making a Tilda Angel for the bathroom. I had to stop to go buy some felt to make the dressing gown but that is now cut out and half embroidered, watch this space. Things I am going to do - I have bought some more felt (well it was all on offer) to hopefully cover my new American Crafts albums. No idea how I am going to do it yet, so still in the planning stage. And finally things that are happening - Laura and Wayne have bought another plot to start their third self-build. So another round of painting and furniture moving to look forward to again.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

On into February

There hasnt really been much to blog about - one of the reasons I hate January and February so much. Although I am quite happy at home hibernating and can find plenty to do to fill the time, it really isnt exciting and these two months do tend to drag on. And there is very little of interest to put on a blog entry.

We have been to the Pantomime though, as we did last year we went to the little Playhouse theatre in Whitstable to see the usual crew, or so we thought. Wayne was so impressed last year that he even dragged his parents along. Sadly lots of the old (and I mean old) favourite actors had retired this year and the scrip writters had taken the opportunity with the new blood to attempt a more polished, more musical approach which, while the girls and boys delivered it wonderfully with some great singing and acting, just didnt really hit the right spots with the small local audience. In jokes about our town gave way to more topical political jokes, the Dame was given a Gok makeover into more modern '80's style clothes, the villians couldnt make up their minds if they were meant to be comical or not, and most of the songs came straight out of the more recent pop charts meaning that they were over the head of the majority of people in the auditorium since the demographic average age was probably in the 45-65 bracket.


Other than that and joining Lovefilm and renting a film a night (trying to see as many as we can on our free trial month) life has been jogging along with work and housework. I have a few projects on the go, but none are finished so I have nothing to share.I have started to crochet (with my new set of crochet hooks) a cardigan for the summer, so far I have finished two sleeves that may have to be redone as they seem a bit short to me, and the start of the body of the garment. I am attempting to sort all my finished Layouts into chronological order and have ordered my first D ring album to help with the task. I have bought a latch hook kit in the Hobbycraft sale and have done a few rows, I have at least 2 sewing projects on the go,l and am still searching for some fabric to make a quilt for our room.

As well as all that I have joined the Joy of Love challenge which is a photo challenge to take a photo a day of someone you love.


The day 1 task was DOING. I toook loads last night of the cat asleep on the bedroom floor last night but the light was dismall (oh the wonder of energy saving lightbulbs) and an orange cat on a beige carpet doesnt really work in a colourful world. So this is him doing his second fav thing, looking out the window and was taken today. Trouble is now I have upset all the settings on my camera and the light is a bit blown out.



Today's topic was HOW THEY LOOK. Actually this is a bit wrong as it is Martin watching the telly but when he does this usually he is asleep and snoring!! This has had a few tweaks in photoshop as I still need to get the camera settings set correctly.