curlyscrapbooker

Miss Smith in da house.............

2012-01-23T13:31:00.001Z

So I am currently way behind in my homework for the class being run by Miss Smith of Curiouser and Curiouser . If you read her wonderful blog, or even if you don't, you will need to be aware that she is a true school maam of the Maths teaching kind. Now I was terrified of my Maths teacher, not only because I constantly made glaringly obvious mathematical errors in my homework but also because I barely scraped a C in my Maths O' level. In order to be a nurse, I had to be fairly maths proficient and certainly working out medications for tiny baby's does test your maths ALOT. And you're not allowed to use calculators either. Anyway, if you haven't read her blog, it is a treat of crafting goodness and brilliant teaching anecdotes. She will be published I am sure one day on those alone.

So Miss Smith's class is called ''Just One Sketch'' and is running from 15th January for 6 weeks. We get private blog access and posts twice a week during that time. The cost is an amazing £5.00 donation to The Girl Guides Association which as an old girl is a truly worthy cause. So to avoid detention, I am posting my first homework assignment today.

Our first task was to look at our recent scrapbooking layouts to see the key design features we use and what we actually like about the pages. I have actually chosen some recent and couple of older layouts as I wanted some variety to assess, so here are my six made into a collage, most of which you will have seen before...........

In my layouts I tend to use scraplifting from time to time and also my own designs so these are a real mix. Having them laid out like this really helps to highlight some of the key facets of my scrapbooking design and style:

I like to have an array of big titles using a mixture of different typography and styles,
I love bling, whether that be using pearls or glittery stickers, I have to have them somewhere,
I seem to have begun using more paint and misting recently to highlight parts of my layouts, primarily due to a class I took and also the influence of other scrapbookers especially Heidi Swapp and Shimelle Laine,
I primarily use one picture although I have on some occasions used more than one, especially when doing a page about a bigger event like S and G's wedding.
I like to make some of my own elements such as the flowers and I like using fabrics and ribbon,
Sometimes I journal alot but on other occasions I write little or nothing at all,
I normally use 12 x 12 paper and cardstock as my size of choice,
I usually use layers of patterned paper to highlight my photos,
Most of my pages have some kind of distressing and inking on them be that the photo itself, or the patterned papers.

So using these elements, Miss Smith has now challenged us to draw our own sketch, which will form the basis of our class work and the layouts we make. So I'm to find some scrap paper and give it a go. If you fancy joining in Miss Smith is not currently giving out detentions for late attendance.

And here is my sketch:

I have used the design thing from Word 2007 which was quite simple to use. I have kept it simple so I can add things to the page I would like to. The orange shape will be the photo.

By the by, if you are interested in coming along to our second Blog friends weekend away, then hop on over to Lizzie Made for further details of when we are thinking of and where.

One Little Word Project.................the word.

2012-01-16T11:20:00.000Z

When I chose my word ''BE'' I was really happy as it had taken me a while to decide unlike other years when I had already got a word in mind. As many of you know I have a Pinterest account, who hasn't, and began collating my resources and ideas quite quickly. I have got a number of images and quotes but when I found this I was hooked straight away.

It was a link to the blog of Rachel Sower's ''Blog By hand'' where she creates beautiful things and has a passion for embroidery. She had chosen the word Give has her word to live by this year and had created a beautiful embroidery of her word.

So I decided to create one for my word. To begin you need to choose a font on your computer to write your word. I chose Castellar and sized it at 350 to get a reasonable design. Here is what it looks like on screen..........

The next task is to choose soem fabric. I have a stash of embroidery stuff, yep I know more stash!!!!!!! I used a piece of linen in cream and found a range of different flosses and beads, which Rachel also used. I then traced the word onto tracing paper and transferred the image onto the linen old school style. You need to go over the image afterwards to ensure it is clear. Then you use black thread and backstitch around the image to make your frame. Mine looked like this..........

Once this part is complete, you are pretty much free to do whatever you like to make the word yours. I foun d some reflective beads in different sizes and chose these to accent the first letter with. These pictures show what the process looked like...........

I didn't go with a plan just went for it, as Rachel suggested be organic, so I was. I will next choose some different colours and begin filling out the design with different images and stitches. I am primarily a cross stitcher but can also do chain stitch and French knots so will use those. I plan to put a heart shape in one of the B holes and also some flowers and a bumble bee of course.

My other idea came from JimJams who had shown how to make a card using different languages and the words Thank-you. I hopped over to the design site called Taxedo and made a foot shape using the definition of ''Be'' I had found in the online dictionary. I chose a foot as it represents my footsteps and prints over the coming year. Here is the end result.................

So have you done something a bit different for your word this year?

Glimmer misting fun...................

2012-01-13T19:33:00.000Z

If, like me, you love using glimmer mists on your projects, or even if you are a novice Shimelle Laine's new project as Glitter Girl solver of all problems scrapbooking has a new video and tutorial this week over at Two Peas in a bucket. There is an excellent description and demonstration of the different mists available and how you can use them, and also a bonus video of other techniques from other Two Peas tutors. Not bad for a free class.

Last weeks challenge was using memorabilia on a layout so go check that one out too. Personally I tend to use Tattered Angel's glimmer mists primarily because I started off buying those at my local crop and have a few now which I use regularly. This is one of my favourite colours I also love Glimmer Glam by tattered angels which is highly glittered type of paint on glue/varnish. It makes bows and paper ruffles firm and protected with that all important shine. I use chandelier as it goes with everything due to it being clear. The glitteriness is brilliant if, like me, you adore that glittery bling. They also have a great list of video tutorials on how to best use the products.

So go forth and experiment xxxx

10 things on the tenth: books to read and live by?

2012-01-10T16:58:00.000Z

Today I would like to share 10 books with you which I aim to read this year and either make something from, learn from or just simply enjoy. This list is brought to in association with Shimelle Laine. So in no particular order we have:

Super-cute felt by Laura Howard or as many of us know her ''Lupin''. This is Laura's first foray into the publication world and is a beautifully written and designed book using her skills as a felt stitcher. She has further expanded into knitting over the past year on her blog. She sells beautiful pieces of felt creations on her Etsy site and is definately worth a read. I am hoping to make her owl egg cosy into something more stuffed and their are over 35 projects to try.

Second is Making Handmade Books by Alisa Golden. This book was a buy after the inspiring workshop we did with Lizzie at our weekend away. I was so excited to finally see her doing her thing as it were and wanted to learn more so got this book from Amazon. There are over 100 projects to try and I am lucky enough to have found some great thread locally which Lizzie recommends, and with the stash I have I will hopefully learn and use this skill in the many minibook projects I have planned.

Thirdly Patch by Cath Kidston. I had this book for Christmas and it has 30 projects to complete, including some free materials to make a cute tote bag featured on the front cover. Having previously tried patchwork ages ago, it is another skill I would like to learn.

Fourth, The Slimming World Little Book of Soups. As soup stays longer in ur stomach thus making you feel fuller for longer, soups have become a dietary staple as I lose weight. I plan to try out some more recipes Cauliflower Cheese soup anyone?

Fifth, the latest from Stephen King. A story of what could happen if you could turn back time and prevent the death of JFK. But what then? I am looking forward to that one.

Sixth the recent novel by Anthony Horowitz about Sherlock Holmes. Waiting for my Dad to finish the last 100 pages, which seems to be taking him a inordinately long time, so I can read it myself. Did anyone else feel cheated by Sherlock this week? I mean where was the scary dog? Get real, there is ALWAYS a scary dog in the book. Left me rather dissatisfied I must say.

Seventh, another gift for Christmas, the inimitable Kirsty Allsopp's Craft which follows on from the series she completed last year. Although I didn't enjoy much of the TV part, the book is really great with lots of tips and ideas and some good projects to try. I fancy trying out the Applique cushion and maybe some Birdseed cakes.

Eighth,The Hobbit because I need to refresh my memory before the film arrives this Christmas.

Ninth, my Bible. I have tried to read it in a year several times but this year I really must do it.

And last but by no means least, this is abit of a cheat please forgive. The other hundred or so books I must read to meet my Goodreads challenge.

What books are you planning to read this year?

2011 review part 2 and 2012 goals.

2012-01-05T17:52:00.000Z

So where was I? Oh yes, half way through my 2011 review in pictures, when I was rudely interrupted by a trip to the local hospital. Anyway, home now and on the mend.

So here is my collage again which I made in Picassa..............gotta love that programme. Anyway we had gotten to the bottom row and are now on the sculpture of the children carrying the cross which I have to say is a beautiful piece of art in the Bishop's Palace gardens. The next picture is lil E blowing bubbles on the cathedral green in the early Autumn when she, her brother (who features next) came to stay. We had a wonderful weekend of baking, drawing, painting, storytelling, babysitting, and eating oh yes and walking. The final picture is of lil M laughing his head off last January on his mum's birthday weekend. We always try to meet up and this year we are meant to be going to see a play in Windsor, my poor coccyx permitting. Anyway that is the end of the 2011 review.

So what does 2012 have in store for me? Well from a blogging perspective I hope to be abit more proactive unlike the last 4 months when I blogged very sporadically. I have given myself a new look for a new year, I thought it was quite cheery and fun, and I love the vibrant colours. I hope it will motivate me to come here more frequently.

I also have 2 year long projects I will be taking part in scrapbook wise. Both are by great teacher from a great online class site called Big Picture Scrapbooking. You can see both of the logos for the classes in my new look side bar to the right. The first is ''Move More Eat Well'' with Cathy Zielske. I have done a couple of Cathy's classes and this one sounded a great way to focus myself, have extra motivation and document my journey to a healthier weight and lifestyle. I am still attending Slimming World and once my coccyx heals, will have to get back to the gym. I know it won't be an easy task but once I decide to do something I normally get there. So watch this space.
The second class is ''One little word 2012'' with Ali Edwards. I took this class last year and thought it was a great process so here I am again. My one little word is

I had no idea until Sunday night when I lying in a hospital bed waiting for the doctor to see me when this very little word came into my mind. I think I was also praying at the time so it must be heaven sent. For a small word it has a lot of connertations........................for example:

be good
be who you want to be
simply be
be loved
be yourself.........................

so there are loads of ways to look at this word and to progress through 2012 just being. I hope some of you are also joining in this years class and I will meet you in the chat rooms.

I have also commited myself to 100 books to read in 2012. Didn't achieve it last year however there were extenuating circumstances m'Lord so I reckon if I start today I will get there. Now what should I start with I wonder?

I want to make a positive impact on my work community and my local community, even in a small way. I love my job and am so excited by the opportunities I have been given. I have been truly blessed with my gifts.

I hope to meet up with you guys more in the flesh. There is talk of another weekend away in the coming months so if you are interested in coming then let me know. Can't let Lizzie be the only organiser this time, I must make more of an effort to be actively involved in the planning.

So what are you planning this 2012? I have read some great goals from my blog roll friends and am looking forward to seeing them come into fruition. So a crafting we will go. Happy, healthy ;) and wealthy 2012 to us all.........................everyone (thanx Charles).

Storytelling Sunday - 2011 in review.

2012-01-03T14:38:00.000Z

Morning all , and a very, very happy NEW Year to all my readers, new and old. I have been looking at pictures from 2011 to make a review page for Journal your Christmas and also to make a 4 x 6 photolove layout ala Shimelle Laine.

I love photos so Sian's new ideas for adding in or just using the photos for our stories has inspired me to share some of the stories I have loved over the past 12 months. Some are stories you have heard before, others are brand new. So sit back and relax, top up that coffee and enjoy.

So starting at the top left hand corner, we are gonna move across the photos in rows from left to right, starting with June and my mum's birthday party. As always it was a beautiful day, how does she arrange that? It was a BIG family affair with me, my mum and dad, lil sis and her partner, my aunty and uncle coming over Portugal, cousins and babies of cousins. This picture is of our youngest family member blowing bubbles and what bubbles they created, they were enormous and for three year old Freddie the most exciting thing since sliced bread.
October and Luke and I went to see The Feeling in Bristol. Great band, great night and great company, oh yeah and I made a new friend. August and another trip this time up to Sheffield to celebrate Luke's **nd birthday! He doesnt like people to know his age, poor young thing, heehee. This picture as some of you may remember is of Luke and Matt drinking the cocktails from teapots. Yep a heavenly concoction guaranteed to give u a headache the next day. Then the swans and cygnets near lil sis's house, so beautiful and tame too.

November and BIG BIG blogfriends meeting weekend in Shropshire. It was just such a joy to meet a handful of wonderful women, and some of their other halves, and to scrapbook live with them. It makes me proud to have started my blog and to have made such awesome friends. Next weekend away coming soon, we hope.
February and I met my friend Teresa and her youngest son Jonny at a local farm. We had a fab day and it made me appreciate how lil people love me just as much as the big ones do. Next the goats of Burrington Coombe, everytime we go to see lil sis we keep our eyes peeled and can often be heard to sing parts of the lonely goatherd as we drive through the gorge.

December saw the lighting of the Manning Close lights for charity and they were even on Channel Four just before Xmas. Christmas was wonderful, despite me falling down the stairs and now sitting in funny positions. July was Lou Lou's birthday and we went to Disraeli's house and this picture of a thistle caught my eye in the orchards.

.................................so it is now Tuesday and sadly I have spent the last 2 days in the hospital. So I hope u will forgive my not quite complete review of 2011, I will finish it when I am fully recovered. xxx

10 on the tenth - living with twins

2011-12-10T18:52:00.001Z

So I have been spending the last week helping my friend look after her 6 week old twin babies. As a Health visitor and midwife of many years experience I have loved having the chance to spend time being Mary Poppins again. Today I thought I would ''do my 10 things on ten tips for looking after twins, so here goes. 1. Don't wear your most expensive gear as it is highly likely to get vomit, poo or wee on or a combination of them all at some stage.2. When people come to visit get them to make the drinks and bring the cake, and make it a fiendishly rich one especially if you're breastfeeding!3. Take up the offer of babysitters so you and ur partner can have days/ nights out.4. Sleep when the babies sleep.5. Never, never, never wake a sleeping baby.6. Be prepared and a microwave steriliser is awesome7. Go for a walk everyday to maintain it sanity and also cos the babies might sleep.8. Try and feed the babies close together in time as it frees you to ''do other things.9. Don't expect too much of yourself as twins are hard work.10. Enjoy them as they grow up fast and before you know it they're leaving home.And that is some of the things I have learnt whilst being Mary poppins or as Grandad Twins said "nanny McPhee"

Storytelling Sunday...........................a Christmas tradition.

2011-12-04T12:39:00.000Z

For the last Storytelling Sunday of 2011 I am going to talk about a tradition................
What is it about Christmas lights which make the days and nights so magical as we prepare for the big day? For me it brings back childhood memories of Christmas trees, town displays, Advent candles, Angel chimes and just the overall magic of Christmas.
As children, my sister and I always went to Cheltenham to see our grandparents and one of the main events was when my dad and grandad drove us around the town centre to see the lights on display. It was always beautiful and colourful. We also had a game we would play when driving home. The game involved counting the number of Christmas trees we could see on our side of the car as we drove. Invariably, one of us would cheat at some stage and we were rather competitive at times. I still do this with my sister if we're in the car and with little people it has also become a new tradition.

Yesterday I spent the day in London with 3 girlfriends and we walked to Regent Street to see the lights there. The huge stars hung across the street like enormous cobwebs. We also walked through Carnaby Street and Covent Garden where they had an enormous tree decorated in red and silver and huge silver and red baubles hung from the ceilings. In Trafalgar Square was the traditional tree sent to the UK from Sweden.

Closer to my home, the other night, they turned on the lights in Manning Close where each home is decorated outside with the most amazing displays and the money raised goes to charity.

As for me, I will put up my tree when I get home from my week away and light the Advent candle each night as we count down to Christmas Day. I will also remember those people who do not celebrate Christmas but use light to celebrate other faith traditions. For Christmas can also mean Hannukah where specials candles are lit each night a week in memory of a miracle which happened for the Jewish people thousands of years ago? How will your traditions be celebrated?

A weekend away.........................................

2011-11-30T22:23:00.000Z

Ever since I began my blog properly with Shimelle's class ''Blogging for Scrapbookers'', I have soooooooooooo hoped for a get together. And last weekend it happened, squeal of excitement. Ten brave, or alternatively read mad, scrapbookers and crafters arranged to meet at a Youth Hostel in darkest Shropshire for a weekend of fun, eating, friendship and crafting. And that is exactly what we got.
Here are a few pictures of what we got up to and I will tell more of our antics later.

The front cover of my Christmas journal...............

A beautiful card made by Jimjams................

K, Lizzie and Alexa......................

One of the old pottery kilns.......................

Our gorgeous youth hostel.........................

a surprise parcel................................

my surprise............................

Clair's wrapping class.....................

things I made...........................

the bracelet Clair is making for me (it snapped when she had almost finished it naughty wire.............)

and the beautiful Mel writing secret letters shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...................

In other news, I am off to be Mary Poppins to the cutest twins next week. Journal Your Christmas begins tomorrow with Shimelle and I am meeting my 2 girlfriends for a trip to London. Plenty to talk about if the twins let me have a minute off.

Storytelling Sunday....................... pet story.

2011-11-06T10:42:00.000Z

What was I going to talk about today for Storytelling Sunday I wondered? To be honest I'm still not one hundred percent sure but I'm gonna ramble abit I think.

Now I am back at work, the usual thing has happened, despite my best efforts I have caught a cold. Boo hoo. It means I sound like a dalek and have the most awful taste in my mouth. Conversely it does mean I have stayed in my bed nice and warm and cosy this morning. I am joined by the fluffbuns namely Holly (fluffbun) and bayb fluff (Willow). We have always had animals in my family. My grandparents had dogs and we grew up playing with Sally who was a colly with a poorly paw and Tufty their cat.

Our own first pet was a black Burmese cat called Sooty, original huh? I can remember walking to my friend's house with my mum one dark evening to pick him up and we walked home with him in my mum's coat pocket. Sooty lived for about 15 years and was a well loved cat. We then had Smudge who was only a part of the family for a brief time and sadly was run over. My sister and I then had a succession of rabbits, guinea pig and another cat called Smokey who was a Maine Coone cat.

After I left home, I didnt have any pets until I bought my own house in Southampton and that is when I first got Holly and Lotty. hey were in a cage together at the PDSA a charity for abandoned pets.

Holly was 3 months and Lotty 7 months. I couldnt bear to separate them so took them both home. I still have Holly obviously and inbetween I also gained a guinea pig and a rabbit called Blackeyes who is over 10 years old and has been adopted by my friend and her children back in Southampton. Oh yes and there have been several fish!!!! Many from fairground wins.

Willow came into the fold nearly four years ago. As you all know she is a pure pedigree Persian although I would never show her. She's too fussy and if I had to wash and brush her more than average it would be a disaster. She is more like a dog at times. She loves rolling in the dirt, she brings in dead things and her tail is more like a brush than a tail......................there have been forests of leaves in there! She is still beautiful though. As for Holly at 16 yearsish she can still hold her own, chases around the flat like a kitten at times and generally loves sitting on any lap available.

Having pets has made life fun, expensive at times but generally a very postive thing. So go get one, it's the best therapy ever and research proves it :)).

Hello again hello!

2011-11-02T21:06:00.000Z

Oh my goodness, having dropped over to see what Lizzie was up to on her blogiversary today I thought I'd see when I last blogged myself. Nearly 2 months ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoops and sorry.

So what have I been doing in those weeks away?

I have returned to work as a health visitor after nearly 6 months off sick and I can honestly say I am soooooooooooo pleased to be back. I feel so well, confident, love my work and the new and inspiring team we have got. Altogether things are great work wise
I have been on a diet using Slimming World partly for my blood pressure and also myself worth. To date I have lost 1 stone and 5 lbs in 7 weeks. Awesome. People are starting to notice the change in size and I am feeling so much better. I was carrying my friend's baby the other day and realised he weighed as much as I had lost. He was really heavy and I thought to myself, wow how did you carry that extra weight around.
I have joined the gym under the GP referral scheme and have been going twice a week. Not being a gym bunny at all I have to be perfectly honest and say I am feeling really motivated and glad to go. It doesnt hurt that the instructors are easy on the eye.
Luke came down to visit and we went to see The Feeling in Bristol who were brilliant as always. He has his graduation ceremony in 2 weeks and I feel so proud of him. I've made some new friends in Bristol one of whom is an artist and performance artist, very talented and more on him another time.
I have been bad with the crafting, not done much at all. But excited to meet some blogfriends at the end of this month in Coalbrookdale for a weekend of fun, relaxation, skyping, blogging and craft.
Watching Downton Abbey..........................how will it end? Please let M and M get together.

What have you been doing?

For Bradley..........................

2011-09-20T12:39:00.000+01:00

.....................hug your children extra close today and if you have time please pray for Luke and his family this week.

Colour combo bloghop-September.

2011-09-17T11:08:00.000+01:00

So here we are again blog friends, another month has flown by and we are doing another colour combo bloghop.
If you have followed the bloghop all the way around you should have hopped over from Michelle's who has just given birth to a beautiful baby boy.............congrats to you all. She is a woman from my own heart as she loves reading and eating chocolate however I am banned from the chocs to lose weight so gggrhh.

So this months colour scheme is this one:

I have scarily decided to share with you some old scrapbook pages which I will share in the loving and caring knowledge that somewhere we all have our beginners pages hidden away.

These 2 photos are of a LO I completed of Lil E when she was first born. Because I was first introduced to scrapbooking through Creative Memories, I had the circular shaped cutters which I tended to use alot. I used set kits with a theme, this one being a baby rather than choosing individual papers like I do now.

I used alot of chipboard elements with the odd individual flourish of adding ribbon to a letter but other than that it was not really individual at all.

Here again I used shaped cutters and sticky ribbon, remember that? Oh the years have changed ribbon. I love it. I did use a punch in this page to make hearts and flowers with bling centres so abit of movement.

Now this LO isnt one I completed, it was made as part of the 12 hour crop I went to with my 2 friends Alex and Tanya. We had to choose our background paper and we were all given the same of photo of us all with Cleo. We then passed the LO and different people had to do the title, embellishments and some sewing. This was what came back. I really like it as it different to what I make now and yet it is made by friends I know sharing their skills.

This one above I've included for the colours and also it is a lesson we did at crop. I learned how to use the crop-o-dile, how to make papers go further, distressing and distress inks and using diecutting machines. I like doing the workshops becuase even if it's something small I always learn something new.

These 2 final pages are simple LOs taught by the wonderful Shimelle Laine called ''Everyone has a story''. I liked the class because it really pared back. The pages consisted of grids of photos or 1 photo and some patterned papers. The one above shows photos across my different ages and the one below is from my first nursing portrait. I like the class cos Shimelle made it ok to be bare.

As I am doing LSNED 2011 I suppose I should document this as my learning of the day. We all start off somewhere in scrapbooking and through constant learning and adaptation we develop our own personal style.
If you havent managed the whole hop then start at Amy's blog and follow it round. Have fun.

http://amysoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.vsws.typepad.com/

http://www.scrapworthylives.com/

http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net/

http://www.snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/

http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/

Bloggers craft weekend........................

2011-09-16T22:17:00.001+01:00

Lizzie and I have been discussing a little retreat since we met up about a month ago and she has done all the legwork. Anyway we would to invite you to.................

Where/When?

It will be held at the YHA hostel in Coalport, Ironbridge, Shropshire.

The dates are Friday 25th November (around lunchtime), to Sunday 27th November (till tea-time if you want!).

The Basics

We can offer you a comfy, clean bed at the hostel, for the Friday and Saturday nights, in 4-bedded rooms, shared with others from our group. We would use the hostel's general showers and loos - from experience, YHA hostels are always kept clean!

The hostel will provide us with Friday and Saturday's Dinners and our breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday. The meals are supposed to be very nice and dinner is 3 courses. (My personal experience of YHA catering is that it was really quite good, though I've never stayed at Coalport hostel).

We will have our own Craft Room (aka the hostel's classroom), for the three days, from Friday to Sunday, where we can meet up, do some crafting stuff - bring your own pet projects, maybe have a bookbinding mini-workshop, chat, drink tea/coffee, eat cake... just have a good time together.

Extra Info

Afternoon Out
We thought it might be nice to arrange a trip out, to a local museum or other attraction(s), since we'll be at Ironbridge and also right next to all the old potteries etc. Crafting 24/7 might be a bit much, so perhaps a change of scenery would be fun? We can look at possibilities and make more plans on this a bit closer to the weekend. If anyone has a favourite, feel free to let us know!

Lunches
We will probably ask each person to contribute something towards our lunches, since we're not asking the hostel to do these (they would give us packed lunches - I think we could enjoy a "bring-and-share" type of lunch each day, or even get our lunch out on Saturday... anyway, we can do better than a "packed lunch"!).

The Money and Stuff

How do you organise your "place" at this amazing weekend? And won't it cost a lot of money?

Well, I contacted the hostel and have provisionally made a booking, for 6 - 8 people, plus the classroom. This is being held for me until next Friday (23rd September), when I will need to Pay for It!!
I'm happy to pay up-front initially, but would obviously like to recoup my costs (no profit will be made by me!).

Price
The cost of 2 nights, half-board - as above - with use of our Craft Room from Friday lunchtime, will be £63.40.
If you are a YHA Member, please take your Membership Card with you, so that you can show it when you check in...
Non-Members will pay a £3 per night supplement (meaning you will need to give the hostel an additional £6 when you check in). This seems the easiest way to deal with the issue of who is/is not a member.

Any Extra Costs?
The only additional costs would be for trips out, extra meals, shopping etc... Also, if you would like to join in with a bookbinding session (if I can set it up), I'd ask for the cost price of any materials I supplied you (again, no profit for me, but I'd like to cover my costs).

* * *

Hopefully you will all think this is amazingly great and brilliant value, for a whole weekend of Meeting Friends, Gossip, Fun and potential Scrapping and Crafting Opportunities!

It would be great if I needed to ask the hostel for another room, when I call on Friday to confirm our booking!

What Now?

To Reserve Your Place, please e-mail either me (lizziemade /at/ aol/ dot/ com), or Jo (josowerby / at/ yahoo / dot/ co/ dot/ uk), with your personal details (your "real name", address, phone no - in case of queries/emergency), also your Paypal account e-mail, if you want me to invoice you from Paypal; otherwise I will contact you to tell you where to post a cheque.

I'm afraid full payment will be needed up-front - £63.40 - as I will pay for the whole "block" booking at once (which will be around £380-£400 for me).

* * *

Also, if you think you might fancy some sort of mini-workshop on Bookbinding, please say so - and whether there's something you'd especially like to learn. If I can, I will organise something - and if you want to join in, then you'd be welcome.

* * *
When you e-mail - or later on, if you want - you could give us some idea of how you will travel to Coalport.

If you come by car, there is parking available for you at the hostel.
If you are using public transport, there's a rail station and a bus/coach station at Telford, which is nearby - we may be able to arrange some sort of "Group Taxi" to meet folks arriving at Telford on the Friday. Otherwise, the hostel website gives details of local transport facilities.
And if you're coming by car and think you can pick up a blog-friend on your way, please mention it - they may be happy to lift-share!!

This is not essential, especially right now, but if you would like a lift from Telford, it would be good to know in advance, so we can see if we can help.

* * *

Well, I think that covers it.... Shout if I missed anything essential! Do feel free to e-mail, if you have any queries at all.

Lizzie and Jo!

Rinda's scavenger hunt the end!!!!!

2011-09-16T20:09:00.001+01:00

So here are the final three items I needed to get to complete Rinda's scavenger hunt................

a fire burning in a fireplace....................this is the mother and father's fire being given an airing before winter....

a forest.......................this is some Forestry Commission conifer forest just up the road which I stitched together using an app on my iphone called Autostitch.....

and finally a person sketching outside their house. With a little artistic license I give you colouring in by Ebony.....

Yes I asked mummy's permission and can I just say she is so lovely outside and in.

So this was a fun hunt, hope you have managed to get your full quota too.

September 11th 2010

2011-09-11T09:00:00.002+01:00

I have commented before on how some of us remember certain historic events because we remember something specific we were doing at the time.
My mother remembers cutting out her wedding gown when news came through about the assassination of JFK. For me though two more recent events left an indelible mark, the first was the death of Diana Princess of Wales and the second was September 11th 2010.

As we remember 10 years on from those terrible events, I am reminded of my visit to New York in 1993 when the Twin Towers were still standing. The pictures I have of these enormous building are a stark reminder of what has gone. They towered literally over the city skyline and it is strange to see pictures now with the empty space left behind. My story of 9/11 as it will always be known is of 2 sisters coming home from a holiday in Crete. Both had had a tough year and had had a week just relaxing and reading in the sunshine. I had driven home from Bristol and desperate to stay awake as long as possible put the afternoon news on. The first plane had already hit the one tower by then and so I watched for further news, I will never forget the live relay of the that second plane smashing into the second tower, it was like something out of a disaster movie. The news obviously kept on running and it became obvious that there was going to be a terrible outcome. It was later when live again I watched the towers both crumbling that I realised quite how many people would have lost their lives.

This week I watched an ITV documentary which followed the events and spoke to many of the key people in power that day who had to make terrible decisions and whose bravery and decision making prevented further tragedy. At the end it said than 3,000 people died in the Twin Towers from 60-70 countries. I know one of those people was my parent's friend's niece and I will be thinking of them and everyone else directly and indirectly affected by this terrible event.

10 things on the 10th: have I ever told you?

2011-09-10T08:25:00.001+01:00

of the 10 places I would love to visit/revisit before I die?
I have traveled abit, seen some of Europe and visited the USA and Australia to see friends, but if I had the finances these are ten of the places I would go to.................

1. The Grand Canyon North side,
the Southside was so breathtaking, it would be wonderful to see it all from another perspective. If you ever get the chance to go, it is well worth it,

2. Australia (in general),
now I have somemore blogbuddies in Oz I have a gr8 excuse to go back and not only go to Sydney but some other places too. Last time I spent most of my time there and it is a wonderful city but only had a whistlestop visit to Melbourne and the Red Centre, so I'd like to come back please xxxxx,

3. Rome and Florence,
I have never been to either place but having done my Study of Art O'level I would love to see the beautiful paintings and sculptures, and just take in the historical cities themselves.

4. Barcelona,
Spending 5 days here was just not enough, it was such a beautiful city with some many amazing hidden treasures. I want to go back and see how Gaudi's cathedral has progressed since we last visited and maybe stay for a service. It is a wonderful building.

5. Japan
Shimelle has talked and photographed this country so often, I am fascinated and would love to go and see the beautiful countryside there when the cherry blossom is out. It looks stunning

6. India,
ever since I first saw ''The Jewel in the Crown' I have wanted to visit this country. I can imagine the heat, smells and sights. It is a huge culture shock from what I have been told because of many people living in such poverty. I feel if I went here though I would be doing something which would involved working with families living in these conditions through church for example. It is important to give sometimes in order to receive.

7. Canada
Somewhere along the way, as a family we have lost contact with part of our family who emigrated to Winnipeg back in the early 1900s. I would love to go and meet them and hear their stories and see pictures of their family to understand how their lives have developed in a new country and how that all fits into our family tree.

8. Antarctica
If I ever had enough funds and could figure out how to stop myself vomiting all the way there my ultimate trip would be here to see penguins in their natural habitats. I have seen the blue penguins in Australia but here it would be the piece de resistance.

9. Belfast
this would be to see a blogbuddie xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

10. New York
I had such a wonderful few days here with my friend but much like many cities you only get a small glance at what you need to see. I would love to go back and visit some of the other places we didnt really visit like Central Park, some of the museums and just walk around the places the girls made famous in Sex and the City.

So that's my ten, have you got some places you'd love to visit/revisit?

Rinda's scavenger hunt update.

2011-09-06T09:00:00.001+01:00

So anyone who has hopped here over the last month or so will know I have been taking part in Rinda's fun photo scavenger hunt and here are a few more pics to add to the completed list,

The fete running alongside the Bishop's Palace on BH Monday.................

Rain on my car window today...................

A self-portrait, yuck.........................

a unicyclist on a poster at my friend's local library........................

our local museum...............................

a wooden bridge................................

a building made of glass and steel.........................

So now the list looks like this................

~~1. A picture of your entire team (or a self-portrait, if you're playing alone).~~
~~2. A museum~~
3. A camp fire (or fire in a fireplace)
4. A protest, town hall meeting or other political activity
5. A hand lettered sign selling something or giving directions
6. A person dressed as a pirate
7. A decorated mailbox (Non-U.S. participants may substitute a piece of garden sculpture)
~~8. Your country's flag~~
~~9. A festival or fair~~
~~10. A wooden bridge~~
11. A forest
~~12. A unicycle~~
~~13. A cemetery of historical significance or with an interesting story.~~
~~14. A castle~~
~~15. Graffiti art (not just graffiti and not just a wall mural)~~
~~16. A building made of metal or glass~~
~~17. Rain~~
18. A person sketching or painting outside their house
19. A beehive or an ant farm with live ants
20. A handmade roadside memorial or shrine.
21. A rooster

LSNED 2011 Minibook development.

2011-09-05T17:04:00.000+01:00

I have been working on my minibook for this years Learn Something New Everyday class with Shimelle Laine. I have done the class for the last 4 years I think and love the fun things I can look back on.

So I began chopping up paper 4 x 6 at crop on Saturday and making the front pages which are just over 5 x 6.5 inches. I have used chipboard album pages from Papermania which I discovered on a recent major tidying up session. I covered the pages back and front with patterned papers and then distressed them and finally inked using a lavender distress ink by Ranger.
In my stash I found a random frame which I thought might look quite good and added this on 3d foam. Beneath this I have a journalling spot and a phrase card which says ''Live your dreams''. I then added the title for the album in different letter stickers and some stamps too. I found found some banners to string across as well as some twine for the rope. I added some crumpled book paper to the edge which I made into a ruffle and painted glimmer glam on to make it glittery and more hardwearing. I then added a rose by Prima, an owl button and finally some punch butterflies using Martha Stewart's punch. The final piece came as I was completing my date tags when I was throwing paint everywhere. I decided to throw some at my cover and now it feels finished.

so here is one cover........................................

For the date tags, I used the smaller but not mini tags you can get from the stationers. I removed the thread and inked each with soot distress ink by Ranger. I then cut a strip from patterned paper using the threading water punch which I attached halfway down each tag, above this I added washi tape which has the days of the week on it. I then added a small banner on 3d foam and then a small scalloped circle and small round circle all edged in the distress ink. To these I added the numbers using some American crafts stickers and then randomly applied the butterflies so each tag looks different. I then splattered paint over the tags to link them with the cover and each other. I mixed Salmon paint by Adirondac with Peppermint Stick glimmer mist, a trick I learnt from Shimelle. Finally I chose a red stripey baker's twine as the threads and I think they look quite lovely myself.

several pretty tags...........................

and some closeups of said tags............................

Storytelling Sunday.........how scrapbooking changes your life

2011-09-04T22:40:00.001+01:00

Yesterday 3 friends reminisced at their local crop.
''do you remember when we came here for the first time?''
'yes it was for the 12 hour crop'
'but ''do you all realise it was three years ago?'
A hush fell over the friends. We had all met at a Papermill Shop cardmaking class and chatting. We all discovered we were primarily scrapbookers and exchanged details as Alex had heard of a local crop. Within a few days she had
phoned about the 12 hour crop.
Through these ladies I have made two gr8 friends, found a church and can enjoy my hobby. This year Alex has had our first crop baby and we realised yesterday it is three years since we first met.
It's not just about sticking and gluing, it's a way of life cxxxxxxx

Jo Jo xxx

Rinda's scavenger hunt part 3........................

2011-08-15T09:00:00.001+01:00

~~1. A picture of your entire team (or a self-portrait, if you're playing alone).~~
2. A museum
3. A camp fire (or fire in a fireplace)
4. A protest, town hall meeting or other political activity
5. A hand lettered sign selling something or giving directions
6. A person dressed as a pirate
7. A decorated mailbox (Non-U.S. participants may substitute a piece of garden sculpture)
~~8. Your country's flag~~
9. A festival or fair
10. A wooden bridge
11. A forest
12. A unicycle
~~13. A cemetery of historical significance or with an interesting story.~~
~~14. A castle~~
~~15. Graffiti art (not just graffiti and not just a wall mural)~~
16. A building made of metal or glass
17. Rain
18. A person sketching or painting outside their house
19. A beehive or an ant farm with live ants
20. A handmade roadside memorial or shrine.
21. A rooster

Ten on the tenth part 3..........................childhood TV

2011-08-10T09:00:00.039+01:00

Welcome to ten on the tenth brought to you with Shimelle
If you want to see all the other bloggers taking part then hop over to Shimelle's blog too.

As a child, we had a black and white TV and not until I was about 4. The first programme I can remember clearly is Top of the Pops and in particular one evening my dad and I dancing to T-Rex in our dining room. I must have been 4 then. I thought I would share with you some of the TV I loved as a child.

Wacky Races

My fave characters were these two naughty boys Dick Dastardly and Mutley............

...................for her sins, poor lil sis got called Dick Dastardly for life because according to my dad she was always getting herself into scrapes. Her other nickname which she hates is Bun bun which I feel is much nicer.

This gorgeous young lady is Penelope Pitstop she was my other fave character. She was always yelling ''Help, help'' in a Southern USA accent and being chased by the Hooded Claw who said ''I'll get you Penelope Pitstop''

2. The Hair Bear Bunch

3. The Banana Splits Show

4. Doctor Who

Oh come on you know it had to be in here somewhere! Yes the Dr I first met him in the late 60s and early 70s when he was played by Jon Pertwee. That's him looking very suave above. I went through the Sarah Jane Smith assistant.................

era then Tom Baker etcetera right up until the present Dr the delectable Matt Smith. I have liked all the Drs even Paul McGann except Sylvester (sorry Sylvester you did him in I'm afraid).

Favourite Dr and assistant would be David Tennant and Katherine Tate however either he or Matt Smith with Katherine Tate and River Song would be perfect.

My sister used to hide behind the sofa like all the other big girlies but I was never scared, I mean come on it's not real you know. Ok maybe sometimes it made me jump but there was way too much excitement to miss by hiding behind a sofa.

5. White Horses

For me this show was all about the beautiful horses and the beautiful theme tune. It is ingrained in my memory forever even if forget the words. Hum that song to a certain age group and they will probably smile and go I liked that show..................and so you can enjoy it one more time here it is....................Come white horses let us fly away lalalalala.........

6. Blue Peter

Anyone in this country at sometime or other will have watched Blue Peter. Ask someone from the UK ''Here's one I made earlier'' and they will say Blue Peter. This programme was one where loads of stuff happened, they raised money for different charities each year, I remember saving up milk bottle tops for something. We all had bring and buy sales. The presenters could all do amazing things and had had experience in different backgrounds. There were pets like the one in this picture who I think is Shep. They also had cats and a tortoise and taught you how to care for them. The here's one I made earlier came from the craft section of the show. Each programme had something to make whether it was food or craft. I made a Pippa house from a box, a Xmas candelabra, book covers all sorts. And half way through the segment to save time they did the ''Here's.....................''

7. Jackanory

If you love stories being read to you then this was the programme to watch and the best reader was this man Kenneth Williams. He had the most amazing voice and did different characterisations.

The stories were normally read by actors and were read over 5 afternoons for 15 minutes enough time to keep your attention and want more the next day.

8.Scooby Doo.
In our house, this amazing cartoon was so well loved by 2 sisters, we can still recite parts of an old album we had when were little.
Scooby Doo the dog and his friend's Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Daphne went around the US solving mysteries and generally getting into trouble. They always found the criminal and brought him to justice with the famous line ''And I would have got away with it too if it hadn't had been for those pesky kids''. Scooby and Shaggy always got scared and ate too much, Velma was the clever one and Daphne was the pretty one. Sadly I couldn't find a song from our amazing album but here is a little scoobie clip................

9. Lizzie Dripping.

Lizzie Dripping was an ordinary girl who lived in an ordinary town, until she met the mad witch who loved nothing better than sitting in the graveyard knittig. Yeah weird. She had this habit of reciting ''Knit one, purl one'' as she knitted and she was always a bit odd looking.

and last but by no means least................

10. Top of the Pops.
your weekly guide to the best music in the UK charts. Ready, Mammma Mia here I go again.......................

What would be in your top ten childhood programmes?

Storytelling Sunday: The Mother's dress..........................

2011-08-07T09:00:00.009+01:00

Welcome to another exciting (I hope ) edition of Story telling Sunday. If you have never seen an edition then hop over here to Sian's blog to read more. I you are here cos you have then welcome back and I will let my tale unfold.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young maiden who was in love with a handsome young Merchant seaman. He had been away travelling but on his return he had popped the question and she had said ''Yes of course''.
She had been preparing herself for the big day and as she was a trained seamstress, she decided to make her own dress.

Conversation 47 years later between the mother and myself:

Me: Please can I get it out?
The Mother: No!
Me: Please Mum I really love to look at it (using extremely whining voice of young child).
The Mother: Well you can get it out if you put it back again.
Me: Of course. But why don't you want to see it?
The Mother: I don't know. It was just such a long time ago.

So there I am reaching up into the cupboard at the top of the stairs for that box which contains one the most beautiful things ever...........................my mum's wedding dress.

My mum said the box was nothing special, just big enough to hold the dress after the big day.

The veil is just below shoulder length and was made up about 6 layers of material held together with a flower and pearl tiara which my mum said matched the pearl in the dress fabric and the buttons. This is a blurred in Picasa shot to take out the living room background.

This is my arty shot of the veil.....................

My mum says the buttons were handmade, she thought by someone else but she made all the little button loops you can see to the left of the picture.

This is a closeup of the veil detailing which is spread out in small sprinkles across the veil

The mother was not keen to be photographed with the dress and she wishes it to be made very clear she wanted to iron the dress first but I said don't be daft. So yes it is a tad creased but beautiful non-the less for a 47 year old. She can't remember where the fabric or pattern came from but it is a lovely dress. The main thing she can remember is that she was cutting out the pattern pieces the night JFK was assassinated..............gruesome

Here are the mother and the father when they were courting. Aw bless they look sooooooooooo young.
I have hunted high and low for a picture of their wedding day but can't find one just now. When I do I will put it up show you how stunning she looked that day.

52 lists: things I am looking forward to.....

2011-08-05T09:00:00.001+01:00

Ooooh one I can do really easily,

seeing Luke in 2 weeks for his 22nd birthday, he says he's going to stay 21 but we have other plans,
seeing Harry Potter,
not feeling depressed anymore, yey for Lithium so far,
meeting a friend,
my friends and their children coming to visit,
the sun coming out after the torrential rain of today,
Storytelling Sunday, the Mother was most desperate not to be involved but she is,
Dr Who coming back to our screens in 2 weeks,
Christmas, you gotta love Christmas,

....................and then today!

2011-08-04T18:02:00.000+01:00

''August Featured Student

Student Features

This month's Featured Student is a crafty lady from the UK: Jo Sowerby. Jo has been a Miss Art's Student for several months, and she has sent us some of her projects that resulted from being inspired by our teachers. The layout we are so delighted to share with you today is one that Jo created after being inspired by Stacy Cohen and "The Secret Garden."

You can see more of Jo's creations on her blog here:
http://curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com
Congrats, Jo!''

How exciting it is to be though of as student of the month and be up among the really creative people. I love this LO cos it is one of my fave photos and I really liked how the page came together. If you go to this post you will find some more details on how the class was taught and the LO made.

Happy Dance in Wells today..................................

2011-08-03T19:31:00.000+01:00

So today dawned beautifully sunny like yesterday and I knew it was gonna be a good day? Want to know why ? Weeeeeeeeeeeell I had a friend coming to visit who I have talked to loads but never face-to-face.
Here are a few clues:

the title of her blog includes her name,
although she is a scrapbooker, she also makes amazing handmade items,
she sometimes can be found sitting in her garden with a very lucky cat,
she has 2 cute furry creatures living in her dining room,
she has a pet named after a famous criminal private detective!

Guessed yet? It's................................
Lizzie from Lizzie made

Lizzie had emailed me a few weeks ago saying she, D and J were coming to visit nearby and could we meet. I of course said yes even though I wasn't sure how my mental would be. Anyway we arranged to meet today at midday outside WH Smiths, really classy eh? Well being it was market day and rather busy we dispensed with that idea and I walked round to the car park to meet 3 lovely peeps waving madly at me. We went off to have to lunch in a local teashop and chatted, and chatted, and chatted. It was fabulous.

This is the handsome D and the terrific teen J who were really fun and let me and Lizzie talk about scrapbooking and blogging for ages........................

Here is the beautiful Lizzie, yes she is exactly how she seems on her blog, honest, cheerful, funny and clever,. It was like we knew each other already which I suppose we did in a weird way.

And of course we needed a shot of the glamorous ladies of blogland together. So once we'd lunched we split up and Lizzie and I went into some of my fave nicnac shops. We walked around the moat of the Bishop's Palace and then around the back of the cathedral via a beautiful pottery shop.

Then we ambled around the market, drank and cooling drink, and before we knew it, it was time for the gang to head home. I t was a gorgeous day but very short. Next time Lizzie has promised to teach me bookbinding.

Oh I forgot to mention she made me this .......................

and brought me the stained glass owls, you know I love my owls.

here's a close-up of the stitched detail on the album and the paper she used which is peacock blue and then gold detailing and blue glitter. She's so clever.

So what a fab day. Could it get any better? Yes it could cos as I was reading my blogroll I saw this from Heather at Heather Scraps.................

And the winner is .........

...... Jo Sowerby!! You are going to be in reciept of this fabulous book just as soon as you let me know your postal address :)
I get the Pass the Book this month from Heather.

Oh I almost forgot I have got another Rinda's Scavenger hunt picture of our local museum..............

Jo xxxxx

But is it Art?.........................August.

2011-08-01T09:00:00.003+01:00

So we are now onto month three of this series about artists and I am enjoying touching base with some of my favourite artists and their works again. Today I thought I would go with Monet.
If you're in the UK you might have been glued to the new series on Impressionist painters on Saturday nights on BBC2......For me it has been just like listening to my Study of Art teacher all over again.

Anyway onto Monet probably one of the most famous Impressionist painters and most recognised in the world. Even if you don't know who he is you will probably have seen his art..........................

............................we recognise them as by an artist, some may say Impressionist, some may say Monet but he is there in everday life for us to see.
Monet was raised in the seaside town of Le Havre the son of a grocer. As a young man he would paint outside what he saw on the beaches. He was nurtured by other artists in the town and eventually moved to Paris. After a period in the Army, Monet eventually entered the art training of Charles Gleyre whose other students included Renoir. It would be along with Renoir, Sisley and Bazille that the Impressionist school would come. Named from a painting of Monet's called ''Impression'' and the criticism of an art critic who termed the painting ''Impressionism'', these men would form a radical new movement of art. Artists would begin to paint outdoors in natural, use bolder colours, short, thick strokes of paint are used and paint laid side by side. The ability to travel with small easels and pre-made paints in tubes made it my easier for the artist to go wherever he wanted to paint.

Probably some of Monet's most famous images are his numerous (over 200) paintings of the waterlilies at his hime in Giverny. Some were orginally designed to be viewed in a circular display in a Parisian museum. The following image is taken from a recent exhibit of some the paintings together in New York.

The following 2 images demonstrate his other works involving his key inspiration in his latter years.

For me it is the waterlilies that mean Monet. They are such beautiful, vibrant pictures, each unique but also telling a story of how his garden and art developed. He must have loved both so much to paint them continuously at the end of his life.
One day I want to go to his garden's in Giverny to explore the ponds and waterlilies. The little bridge has had to be replaced as it rotted, but I can still imagine this wonderful artist standing there at his easel painting what he could see, probably with great difficulty towards the end of his life when he had cataracts. For someone who was inspired by the world he could see it must have been a tragedy for him to lose his eyesight.

If you want to find out more about Monet and his life and garden, then go here for further information.

Hope you have enjoyed this months Artist.

Rinda's scavenger hunt part 2

2011-07-31T19:08:00.000+01:00

So today I went on a local jaunt armed with my trusty camera for the last day of Week in the Life and also discovered some pictures for Rinda's scavenger hunt on the way. Here is the original list with the ones I've got so far :

~~1. A picture of your entire team (or a self-portrait, if you're playing alone).~~
2. A museum
3. A camp fire (or fire in a fireplace)
4. A protest, town hall meeting or other political activity
5. A hand lettered sign selling something or giving directions
6. A person dressed as a pirate
7. A decorated mailbox (Non-U.S. participants may substitute a piece of garden sculpture)
~~8. Your country's flag~~
9. A festival or fair
10. A wooden bridge
11. A forest
12. A unicycle
~~13. A cemetery of historical significance or with an interesting story.~~
14. A castle
~~15. Graffiti art (not just graffiti and not just a wall mural)~~
16. A building made of metal or glass
17. Rain
18. A person sketching or painting outside their house
19. A beehive or an ant farm with live ants
20. A handmade roadside memorial or shrine.
21. A rooster

To this list I can now add:

..........................a rooster in my friend's garden,

a castle (well Bishop's Palace which looks exactly like one)

a handmade roadside memorial made by Italian POWs who made it a thank you for the good care they received when they were held here.............

a hand written sign selling yummy cream teas..........

a skeleton dressed as pirate (I know I'm reaching but it's my fallback option

this is my cool political protest by the local Cavalier Militia calling on the people to rise for king and country...........only in the UK........

the hibernation home my sister has for bees etcetera............

a garden ornament.......................bamboo wind chimes at my sister's house.

Now this has nothing at all to do with the hunt but features 2 adorable quails hatched in my friend's incubator the other night. Only the size of a thumb, they have bigger feet than wings and were so cute.

Week in the Life title page.

2011-07-30T08:00:00.002+01:00

I have busily photographing things which I have done this week. It has been an interesting week so far.
The thing that has taken me ages to sort is the LO designs. In the end I have used 3 page designs from previous classes I completed at Big Picture Scrapbooking with Cathy Zielske and Ali Edwards. The titles page which I am sharing today was from the ''Me: the abridged version'' title page and I have used several pictures I though showed the week quite well. I used colours from the rose and the felt tip colouring in to make the colour colour blocks and circle which I liked.

From top left we have catching the train home on Monday, dustbin men on Wednesday, Pooh and Paddington bear on Monday, Anna's owl necklace (I so want to pinch this) on Friday, drawing and colouring in on Friday, Pickwicks for tea and cake on Thursday, reading everyday and roses in the gardens Thursday.

So two more days of photos to take and then work on completing the LOs begins. How's your week in the life going?

Rinda's Snapshot Scavenger Hunt.

2011-07-29T13:43:00.000+01:00

One of the fun things I love about blogging and blog friends is the unusual challenges you find in the blogosphere and Rinda at Gallo Organico has a doosy. She has a Summer scavenger hunt where she is challenging her blog readers to photograph 21 different items on the list below:

Summertime Photography & Snapshot Scavenger Hunt List

1. A picture of your entire team (or a self-portrait, if you're playing alone).
2. A museum
3. A camp fire (or fire in a fireplace)
4. A protest, town hall meeting or other political activity
5. A hand lettered sign selling something or giving directions
6. A person dressed as a pirate
7. A decorated mailbox (Non-U.S. participants may substitute a piece of garden sculpture)
8. Your country's flag
9. A festival or fair
10. A wooden bridge
11. A forest
12. A unicycle
13. A cemetery of historical significance or with an interesting story.
14. A castle
15. Graffiti art (not just graffiti and not just a wall mural)
16. A building made of metal or glass
17. Rain
18. A person sketching or painting outside their house
19. A beehive or an ant farm with live ants
20. A handmade roadside memorial or shrine.
21. A rooster

52 lists: Ways to be a great companion.

2011-07-28T10:12:00.000+01:00

As I am singleton, I have had to think a bit outside the box on this one but have come down Ways I think I could be a better companion:

I think communication is vital. Not just talking but really listening to your partner, something we learnt about in counselling courses I have attended.

Never go to bed on an arguement, a philosophy which many friends have said is important for them,

Have some similar interests as well as different things you love to do, so you will never get bored,

Have an idea of the goals you want for your relationship and your life together especially if you are married,

Make sure you go out on a date night even if you have children, making time to spend with your partner is special and enables you to focus on yourselves as a partnership and not just as parents,

Telling each other ''I love you'' awwww..............................

How many of these things do you do with your companion to make life special?

Colour class: orange and yellow

2011-07-23T09:00:00.002+01:00

The second week of class was orange and yellow colours.

The minute I saw the orange I knew which picture to use. When I went to San Francisco I climbed inside the Coit Tower a major landmark. Inside are the most beautiful murals depicting Californian life. These orange pickers stood out.
Here is my LO.............

I first spritzed the blue cardstock with orange glimmer mist and then layered the pictured onto blue and then orange dotted papers. I them cut some stips of orange papers which I distressed with black inks and handcut a bird and leaf from another patterned paper. The flowers are canvas painted with Jenny Bowlin daubers and layered with foam dots. The title is layered onto blue and orange dotted paper. I then added some blue gemstones.

When it came to the yellow LO I wracked my brains for a picture and then remembered my favourite baby duckling from last year, yep the only true yellow one in the clutch. So here he is with his brown brothers and sisters swimming on the Bishop's Palace moat.

The title reads ''8 lil ducks went swimming one day'' from the nursery song. I used yellow and black as they have a stark contrast. and especially as there is alot of blue in the pictures I didn't want to distract from them too much.

Week in the Life

2011-07-22T09:00:00.001+01:00

So it's that time of year again, the time when we scrapbookers join with Ali Edwards in the annual Week in the Life journey. I did this last year as it fell in with the week I began my new job. As I have been ill with bipolar again and am off work, I will be doing a different take on the week in my life, but that's what the whole process is about, describing what happens for you in that week as a snapshot of your life.

A couple of my blogfriends are doing the week again this year like Amy who described her plans today. Last year I did mine digitally with some A4 designs by Ali herself so I will probably do that and hybrid scrapbook the rest.

If you want a thorough knowledge of the background to Ali's project then hop over to her main page about it here

This is how Ali is planning her week on the blog next week.....................

Week In The Life Schedule

Here’s what’s happening next week:

MONDAY | The week begins with a special Week In The Life giveaway from the 2011 sponsors. The comments on the giveaway will be open through Friday with the winners posted on the following Monday.

TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY | Each day I’ll share my photos and words for the day. At the bottom of each post I’ll include a link widget for you to link to your own blog or site sharing your photos and words. Seeing others photos and reading their words are such a great way to get inspired and to think about other things you’d like to include in your own project.

WEEK OF AUGUST 1 | I’ll be sharing my completed album.

There is also a free PDF to download to use for documenting key daily events you have noted or photographed or want to journal here. So I hope to see some more of you guys joining in the fun.

Colour class: Red.

2011-07-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

The first week of class was all about the colour RED.

For my LO I actually used a class I had completed at my local crop. We used some embossing techniques on this LO which I haven't done alot of but now I love it so you will probably see more.

Here is my LO....................

This photograph was taken in the year 2000 when we all went to Paris to see my godmother sing at one of the opera houses there. We decided to go to Notre Dame as none of us had been in. It was a strange experience as you wander around like little ants and are constantly being told by a priest to be quiet over a microphone. It was surreal. It was a lovely picture too as my mum is looking adoringly at my dad and for a change he isn't pulling a face.

The kraft cardstock was embossed using clear embossing powder and using some flourishes and butterfly stamps. We then did some coloured embossing using red inks, I did more butterflies and flourishes. The page was then built up by cutting a ring of red patterned paper which the picture sits into, the flourishes were then cut apart and build into layered pieces on 3-d foam.

52 lists: things to do on a rainy day.

2011-07-20T09:00:00.005+01:00

Ah yes rain, that element we need but don't necessarily love. So this week what can I think of to do on a rainy day?

Bake...............nothing better than cooking something yummy with those lovely aromas to lead u away from the window,

Organise your craft supplies.............go on you know you want to,
Housework?................nearly as yucky as rain but a necessity I suppose,
Watch a good old weepy movie no-one can see u cry through the rain, heehee,

Phone a friend, cos they'll be indoors moaning about the weather too,
Scrapbook.................go on it's fun,
Plan a reading goal......................and keep to it,

Try online dating................it's hysterical,
Make your Christmas list.........................cos when it comes around you'll have forgotten what you fancied 6 months ago and get those socks again,
Delete those million and one emails you have in your inbox it is therapeutic,
Put your wellies on and splash in the puddles like a big kid, take kids with you and everyone will think you're the best aunty/uncle ever,

Be grateful that you have rain as some countries have little or none....................likewise be grateful you're not being flooded.
Smile the sun will come out tomorrow so the story goes and when it does they''ll be a rainbow with gold at the end of it.

Explore

2011-07-19T09:00:00.003+01:00

Welcome to the first post for Explore the brand new class from Shimelle Laine. There wasn't a huge amount of information about the class prior to today however I have faith in Shimelle so took the plunge anyway.

So the first prompt was to make a Play book which I have done. I used pink cardstock and some scraps of patterned paper left from projects. I found some explore related travel stickers and others bit and bobs. The pages are 6 x 4 but I made the covers slightly larger so that it would accomodate large objects depending on the class requirements.

The cover is hiding a wealth of messy inking which kind of had a mad attack all over the card! I ended up making a bigger detailed cover to disguise it all. I found the labels and stickers in my stash and the birdcage I had already cut out and thought of a bird wanting to explore the outside world. The stickers a puffy stickers and I splattered a load of paint down the front. What looks like a postal stamp is actually a sticker from a travel pack.
We were also told to find some photos which meant explore or adventure to us, here are a couple I found.

The Paris Eye

Bristol Balloon Fiesta

Walking in the Yorkshire Moors

Me sitting overlooking a beach in Pembrokeshire.

Each of the photos have a travel sticker with a phrase added onto it from the travel pack I mentioned earlier.

Yesterdays prompt is taking a picture of urself which I still havent done as I dont have the right light or mirror placements. Today we needed to make or find a postcard. I found one in my bag of souvineers from Barcelona 3 years ago. I will complete the journalling later.

I will be back with more Explore tomorrow.

Colour Class.

2011-07-17T09:00:00.014+01:00

I have taken a number of classes with Big Picture Scrapbooking and as with Shimelle Laine, find the classes very innovative and fun. The great thing about them is you have ongoing access to the class information and videos so you can miss some of the weeks but still reap the benefits.

Anyway I thought I would share some of the work we have been doing. The pre-class homework was to make 6 tags depicting the primary colours on the colour wheel, here are mine. All the tags come from a well-known stationary shop and the stamps are from Unity. The inks are Distress Inks.

For the orange tag, I inked the tag in Marmalade then stamped on a dandelion image in black. The butterfly is embossed using clear embossing powder on vintage music paper, coloured and cut out, then some bling added. The chipboard pieces are from a loose bunch I found floating around.

For the red tag I inked the tag with Fired Brick and then stamped the heart image using the same ink and embossed with iredescent powder. I then spritzed with some spray glimmer mist. I added the strip of Washi tape and the bobble ribbon and the little sentiment. The butterfly sticker is from some packaging.

For the violet tag, I embossed a rose image and the word beauty then inked over this with a violet chalk ink, rubbing away the excess. I then added some bling, buttons and twine, and some lace.

For the green tag, I again embossed directly onto the tag and inked over with green chalk inks. I then painted and distressed a Tim Holtz grungeboard flourish and used this as the background for my 2 flowers. The leaves were hand cut and inked.

With the blue tag I again heat embossed using a stamped image in Faded jeans. I then distressed and wrapped some blue paper around the tag and added a left over rolled blue jeans flower from a previous project.

For the yellow tag, I again embossed directly onto the tag and sprayed glimmer mist on top. I again wrapped and distressed paper. Added a Tim Holtz key and bling in blue, added the chipboard star, button and lace.

Colour Combo Bloghop

2011-07-16T14:00:00.045+01:00

Welcome to our third month of the Colour Combo Bloghop organised by Amy.
You should have arrived here from JO. C who I am sure delighted you with fun and crafty goodness. If you are a regular bloghopper you will know the drill, if not then basically follow all the blogs round in one big circle. You start and finish at Amy's blog. The full list is at the bottom of this post should you get lost.

I have to apologize profusely for having a slight brainstorm and doing this month's colours a month early last month, therefore I am doing the same colour combo but in a different way.

I was wracking my brain thinking what I could do which was not scrapbooking and I came across the flowers idea. It is Summer after all, well maybe on some days. My favourite flowers are cottage garden plants and roses in particular, so here are a few beautiful roses I found for your delectation.

Château de Clos Vougeot is a Climbing rose developed by David Austin famous in this counrty and abroad for his traditional roses.......

This rose is slightly more lilac than blue but it has a heavenly scent apparently...........

Royal Philharmonia is a beautiful off-white rose with a slight scent...............

The Suntory Blue rose pictured below was developed through genetic engineering in 2008 in Japan using state of the art technology.................

If you want to read about how this was achieved then follow this linK.
Then I gave in and did a digital page

The template is a freebie from Cathy Zielske.

The papers are Rhonna Farrer's Sorbet Dream range and the paint splatter is also from this range. I reduced the opacity so it didn't stand out so much.

So our next stop is over here at Stephanie's blog. She is lady inspired by scrapbooking so much she wrote her sociological thesis based upon it. This should be an interesting post.

Here is the blogroll should you get lost.................

http://amysoto.blogspot.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

http://www.snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net/

http://craftygoodies.blogspot.com/

http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/

http://www.scrapworthylives.com/

http://www.vsws.typepad.com/

http:/handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com

http://throughthecameralens.typepad.com/

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com/

http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com/

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

Going Postal

2011-07-15T18:39:00.000+01:00

Here is my first blog for the Going Postal themed blogposts hosted by Julie Kirk which I talked about yesterday. I am a hoarder, as I have said before, not because I am a bad declutterer but I love memories. What better way is there to cheer yourself up with some old memories which warm your heart and soul with a golden glow of times gone by? Well I have a special box of these, it contains all the letters I have ever had from my friends and family. When I feel sad or lonely I get them out to read about the happy times I have had.

The letters smell old and some are fading but what's inside them is alive and vibrant. Just sifting through them I can see some of the stories I will read, stories of being a young nurse in London, clubs and parties we went to , bad TV we watched, bad TV my sister watched and told me in full detail just in case I'd been on the wrong shift and missed it. Words from proud grandparents wanting to tell you about their flower exhibit at church or latest gossip. Letters from home and abroad.

Looking through for this post, it made me smile to see that back way back when postage had been 13 pence! Now that was a while back. I dread to think how much it costs now. The addresses also tell me the different places I lived while a student. Initially I lived at Mile End nursing home, then we were moved up to the main Whitechapel nursing home ''The Luckes''. After the first year, I then moved to the modern flats in John Harrison House and had 2 different rooms there..............they were plush compared to the rest. I have to say that none of these building exist anymore apparently as they were demolished to make way for more modern hospital building at The London.

My letters help me to place events into perspective and as I never kept a diary they will aid my scrapbooking of my days as a student nurse next to my memories of specific events.

Going Postal..............

2011-07-14T22:11:00.000+01:00

Anyone else bemoaning the loss of the letter/card/postcard, well literally anything which was lovely and handwirtten coming through the post? Well fear not, my friends for in the mnadness that is the shocking bill and the email and INternet, we will be joining a fun new game for the next month devised by the luscious Julie Kirk called Going Postal.
The idea is that we all blog about something which involves yes post. It could be a card we've made or received, ephemera etc. The prerequisite is it has something postally in it. If you fancy joining in then go to Julie's blog here for more details.

The extra plus, more fun things to see on Pinterest.

52 lists: things I need to let go of....................

2011-07-11T09:00:00.003+01:00

This week is quite a hard one for me as I am such a hoarder, not only of ''things'' but of feelings and emotions, so I will warn you, this could get dirty!

I need to let go of the feelings of negativity which have haunted me for most of my life,
I will never be slim not for want of trying but because the medication I take makes me that way and keeps me sane.
The anger I feel about injustice in this world,
The need to try and please others all the time,
To have all the scrapbooking stuff I want but can't afford and just use what I already have,
Fear of rejection.........................is that possible?
The pain of being unmarried and childless,
The person I want most in the world but can't ever have.

What do you need to let go of?

Jo Jo xxx

10 things on the 10th part 2.

2011-07-10T09:00:00.048+01:00

Today is the second installment of the new 10 on the 10th hosted by Shimelle Laine. If you want to see all the bloggers taking part then hop over here and have a look. The key part is that we choose 10 things, and it can be anything, which we want to blog about.
For this post I have chosen to do ten things I am looking forward to buying after CHA Summer. I f you don't know what that is it is the BIGGEST crafting extravaganza for people in the trade and showcases all the new trends and craftiness for the coming months. So without further ado here in no particular order are some of the things I have seen:

1. Firstly from Tim Holtz there are new embossing folders and die cuts for the Sissix machine or his own Vagabond..........................

Imagine cutting out all these lil pieces to make an autumnal wreath for your home?

and these stamps for Xmas....................

2. From Graphic 45 we have ABC Primer which are vintage school themes papers, really lovely........

4. Fiskars are introducing some new punches including punch anywhere punches............

5. Websters Pages which produce the most beautiful papers have a Christmas range called A Botanical Christmas which looks like this..................

6. Ranger are introducing a new range of Perfect Pearls mists in lush colours. As someone new to misting but loving it, you can never have enough shades for scrapbooking or art journalling.

7. American Crafts have a new line called Amy Tangerine and I really like this mixed paper with planes, typewrites etc on...............

I also love this banner paper and cute tags from their daydream collection.........

And these candy cane inspired thickers from their Hollyday Christmas range......

8 . Here you can view Prima's new range ''North country''.......................

and Romantique which seems to be inspired by Jane Greenaway's childhood illustrations............

and these from the Pixie Glen range...........

loving this beaded heart.......................

9. Bo Bunny's glorious Forever Fall uses teal and burnt orange and gains inspiration from sunflowers............

10. There is also alot of excitement around the Pink Paislee mistables range................

If you want to see more, and there is LOADS, then pop over here. Take ur drink and cakes and write your Xmas list.....................I am...................

Jo xxxx

The Magic of Dance.............

2011-07-08T17:09:00.000+01:00

Many, many years ago there lived a little girl who loved going to ballet classes. She learnt to courtsey professionally and her 1st to fifth positions. But alas, as so much in childhood, she made the decision to stop going to ballet and joined brownies instead. Fast forward several years and this now teenager loved watching the ballet, her favourite dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn.

She would wait with anticipation the evening when Margot would come on to the television and present her programme the Magic of Dance. It was part history of dancing and dancers but also a showcase for Margot and the amazing Rudolph Nureyev to dance extracts from famous ballets.

Over the years, this now adult watched many a ballet at the theatre including La Fille Mal Garde, Les Sylphide, Swan Lake, 2 versions of Cinderella, Giselle and still wants to see The Nutcracker and Matthew Bourne's all male Swan Lake. But it is Margot and Nureyev she wishes she had seen live.

Not only live ballet but ballet in film plays an intimate role in the development of her love for ballet. The film ''The Red Shoes'' being a favourite................see a scene from the integral ballet scenes here.............

Tasty Thursday..................

2011-07-07T13:35:00.000+01:00

................just cos I feel like.
So today I got the latest edition of ''Mollie Makes'', surely you've not been in Antartica and heard us all going on about it. This month you get more free felt to make felt rings, crochet tutorials for flowers and some felt dogs to make, cool............

My latest taste frenzy is these...............Japanese Seaweed covered peanuts, nomnom.

I found this fabulous site called Creative E-courses which gives you up-to-date info on all kinds of online classes which are either free or paid for. There are mixed media and scrapbooking classes. Definately worth a hop over just to see what's around.

Today over on Ali Edwards site Janet Hopkins has a hybrid tutorial with free downloads and pdf instructions. Janet has some beautiful printables here and a beautiful blog here.

This is one of Janet's printables.................

In even more exciting news, Shimelle launched her newest class yesterday afternoon which costs a meagre £10.00 so I hope you've all signed up. It will be a journal which you make with 20 pdf instruction.prompts, videos, the open class and if I know Shimelle ongoing updates and class access. It starts on the 18th July.

Explore starts Monday, 18th July 2011 and runs for four weeks with prompts Monday through Friday. These prompts take you through an adventure from your perspective. Everything is written in a way that you can participate from home – this is not a travel album. Instead there are prompts on using your camera, your pen and your crafting supplies to look at your surroundings and your memories in a new way. There’s a new adventure in every prompt.

So have a good Thursday hope you find something to play with.

52 lists: a waiting list of books.

2011-07-05T09:00:00.002+01:00

This weeks list from Kellie is an inspiring one for me as the collector of literally hundreds of books. I have so many waiting to be read, however I am going mine to a few because otherwise you may lose the will to live or leave due to severe boredom.

So here is a list of books I want to read for the first time or again, in no particular order.............

The Bible.............I am trying to complete the Bible in a year challenge which involves reading a piece from the Old and New Testaments and a Psalm everyday. I am doing ok at the moment so that's an ongoing one.

''The Children's Book'' by A.S. Byatt. I read ''Possession'' which tells the modern day story of two academics trying to discover whether a Victorian poet and writer had an affair with a married man also a poet. It was such a beautiful story and beautifully written that I have this in my reading pile.

''December'' by Elizabeth H. Winthrop. This book was part of Richard and Judy's bookclub in 2009, waiting awhile then in the pile, and I still haven't gotten to it. It is set in New England and 11 year old Isabelle who is selectively mute. How this affects her parents and Isabelle is the central focus of the story.
''The Anatomy of Ghosts'' by Andrew Taylor.Set in 1786 this is part ghost story and murder mystery, should be good.
''My Father's House'' by Sylvia Fraser. This book was a recommendation from a lady who taught on a Child protection course I attended for work. It is a personal, and harrowing account, of the life of the author as a survivor of child abuse. Not for those of a delicate disposition. I got it in the market book store and will make this one of my summer reads, but in small chunks I think.

''The Shadows in the Street'' by Susan Hill. I first read Susan Hill's ''The Woman in Black'' many years ago which is seriously the scariest novel and theatre production ever. I have now read several of her ghost stories, and also her personal experiences of pregnancy and loss of a premature baby. She is an amazing author and recently began writing a series of crime novels based on the character Simon Serrailer. This is the fifth novel in the series. Not a traditional murder and catch the killer story, I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to understand more about the crime itself rather than the CSI parts.

''Decorate'' by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick on how to make your home pretty. Yep that's a must.

And quite probably numerous scrapbooking books, magazines and blogs to add to the list.
What's on your list?

4th of July

2011-07-04T09:00:00.002+01:00

As today is the 4th of July, I would like to wish all of my blog friends from the USA a happy holiday.

Have fun.

Oh yes and the Mother thought the hat was fabulous. Apparently it was the height of fashion and was made up of lots of blue bows. Personally it looked like a lampshade when I saw it in the box but I have been out voted by you guys, so I will tell her the great news.

Storytelling Sunday - Baptism.

2011-07-03T09:00:00.001+01:00

Today is a very special day in our church as several young people have made the decision to give their lives to Jesus and be baptised. In our church, children are dedicated as children by their parents which means that parents make a pledge to bring up their children in the teaching of Christ and that when the children are older they then make a decision of faith for themselves. This is different to many churches where as babies we are christened.

I was christened when I was a baby by my grandfather who was a Church of England Reverend. I was christened in the family gown which was made of parachute silk and my mum still has. I was christened in the church where my parents had met, been confirmed, my dad had sung in the church choir, they had got married and my grandfather had just been ordained. I had 2 godmothers and a godfather.................my cousin Felicity and my Aunty Sheila. My godfather is my dad's friend and best man. Everyone looks very posh in the pictures, although my mum looks like she's wearing a blue lampshade for a hat, sorry mum!

This is the only picture I could find to show you guys. I'm the cute baby, that's my mum in the blue dress and lampshade, behind her is my godfather , the lady in the flowery dress in my dad's mum and then my grandpa Sowerby, the guy in the dog collar is my Grandpa Watts and the lil boy is my cousin with the lady in pink in the pink.
My christening cake was made by mum's Uncle Ted who was a baker...............he also did my sister's cake and my mum's 21 st cake. I had a silver bracelet, serviette rings, an egg cup and spoon and a white bible and prayer book which I still have safely in my bookcase. Apparently it was a beautiful hot day and everyone went back to my parent's house for a party in the garden.

The above picture shows my lil sister after her christening again with my grandfather in his full regalia. Unfortunately she was a bit older when she was baptised so didn't fit into the parachute dress so had her own special dress made for her. By this time my grandfather had his own parish in the Forest of Dean so I think all his parishioners were there. I can remember the christening as I fell down the steps at the front of the church.

I was baptised about 10 years ago after I came back to the church after my illness and had an amazing experience. I had all my friends and family to support me as I went under the water and I remember it wasn't long after my dad had been very ill too. He stood and made his own testimony in front of the congregation which was very emotional for him. I have had a much more special relationship with God since then and I hope my family have too. I hope that today will be just as wonderful for the young people of our church who are making this choice.

Canvas Banner.

2011-07-02T17:46:00.000+01:00

If you look back at my 52 lists of wishes, you will remember I wanted to know my Bible better. Well, I am apparently not quite as poor as you might think and last weekend I made this banner with 6 of my favourite quotes.

The banner is actually a canvas mini album by Maya Road which I sprayed using spray inks both glimmer mists and smooch spritz and used several masks for the backgrounds. I then stamped onto the pieces using a scribed stamp and a musical stamp by 7gypsies. I then added some bling and flowers. Finally I wrote my 6 quotes onto the canvas using a marker pens. The pieces are tied together with ribbon. I also used a Donna Downey canvas word ''Journey'' which I used as both a template for the quotes and to show my journey as a learner.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Storytelling Sunday.

But is it Art - part 2- David.

2011-07-01T09:00:00.002+01:00

Welcome to the second of this monthly series on favourite art and artists. This will be happening on the first of the month.

Today I am bringing the artist David, a French painter who fascinated me as a teenager when studying art at O level. David was a Neo-classicist working around the times of the French Revolution. In this style of painting, drawing is very important and when you look at these paintings, they appear almost photographic with clear colour and line and hardly a brush stroke to see. Neo-classicists saw rationality and sobriety as important values.

For todays post I have chosen just 2 of his paintings to discuss which are my personal favourites. The paintings represent historical events but also reflect the political developments of the times when David was painting.

The first painting is called ''The Oath of the Horatii''.....................

this painting is based on the events which happened in the development of Rome. It tells the story of three sons from the Horatii tribe who are chosen to do battle against another tribe called the Curatii. In this painting, the three sons are swearing an oath upon their swords, held aloft by their father. In Roman times, this oath was said to be ''Those about to die salute you''. The sons are planning to fight to the death for their belief in Rome and the state. The men are portrayed as strong characters at the forefront of the painting whilst the women are portrayed as weeping for the impending loss they face. The sons go and fight and only one returns. The story is complex as one of his sisters is betrothed to a man from the Curatii tribe and she weeps for her loss. The brother kills her. The idea here is that one must be willing to sacrifice—even sacrifice one's life and family members—for the state.
This painting is held in The Louvre Paris, and is huge. I remember first seeing it up close and was amazed by the colours and the incredible detail. I had been so excited to see the ''Mona Lisa'' but this is the picture I fell in love with. Forget the Mona Lisa, look at the work in this one.

The second painting is called ''The Death of Marat''..............

this depicts the murder of Marat, a publisher, who was David's friend and fellow revolutionary. Marat was murdered in his bath as depicted here by a woman named Charlotte Corday. Charlotte was an aristocrat who was trying to prevent what she saw as the murder of 100s by causing the death of 1 person. It is thought that David used Christian imagery in this painting to compare the death of Marat with that of Christ.
David was imprisoned at the fall of the Revolution and eventually exiled to Belgium in his later years. His impact on painting however was long lived as he had many pupils who I may discuss at a later date.

I hope you have enjoyed our second piece of art history.

52 lists: the wish list...........

2011-06-27T11:10:00.000+01:00

This weeks list inspired by Kel is the wish list. Mmmmh what would I put on one of those?

Well last night it would have included asking the team at Glastonbury to turn down the sound system a bit cos it was upsetting the cows in the fields by me. But today I've got some other things I'd wish for.

A larger scrapbook room would be at the top at the moment as I have stuff climbing out into every room in my flat and it seems to be creeping out the door and into the hall.....................

The ability to travel abroad without having to fork out for a new and very exhorbitantly priced passport,
The opportunity to meet my lovely blog friends, I wish we could all have our own lil time machine which would take us to one place and time to meet for tea, cake and crafty fun and chat xxx

Greater knowledge and understanding of The Bible as I am severely lacking,
Time to spend with family and friends,
The chance to meet that special someone,

That Daniel Craig hadn't married Rachel W last week.........................sob :(.

Simple scrapbooking on Sunday

2011-06-26T19:13:00.000+01:00

I have got a very simple digital scrapbook page to share today which I made the other day using this digital freebie from the Simple Aussie girl's site. This is their first challenge and here is my interpretation.............

I love this photo of my sister and I taken several years ago and thought it would be a lovely page to celebrate the highs and lows of sisterhood. Me and lil sis are great.

52 lists: things I learnt from my father.

2011-06-23T23:48:00.000+01:00

A little late this week but at least I did it with a BIG reminder from Mel................

It didn't take me long to write this one either:

How to drive......................yes my dad was a very brave fellow and let me get in his Vauxhall Cavalier and drive from Storrington to Worthing several times a week,
''Always read the exam paper thoroughly before you even pick up your pen Jo'', a piece of advise I have retained and passed on over the years as a friend and teacher,
How to tie and school tie and do long division,
Patience, my Dad is the most patient person I know and when he isn't you know it's something big driving him mad. He also has the best temper and loses his temper so rarely that if he does it is major,
A love of gardening, my dad always has loads of plants growing and loves nothing better than pottering around in his shed and greenhouse,
John Wayne.........................in our house the JW western was the big film and I was brought up on the classics.
Music............................my dad has a beautiful tenor voice and has sung since I can remember. He always encouraged me and my sister in our studies. I played piano, flute and sang and my sister learnt the clarinet,
Love.............................need I say more?

And for all the people who left wonderful comments about his father's day card, he cried, bless him.

Father's Day.............

2011-06-18T20:45:00.000+01:00

To all the wonderful dad's out there Happy Father's day.................

and here's what I made for my dad.....................

Colour Combo bloghop part 2.

2011-06-18T08:00:00.004+01:00

Hello and welcome to our second Colour combo bloghop ................

You should have arrived from the lovely Lesley who is married to AJ and has two beautiful cats called Kiwi and Willow.
If you followed last months hop you will know what we are all about but for those of you who are new to my site or the hop then here is our resumee. We mainly met through Shimelle's class ''Beyond Blogging for scrapbookers'' and the lovely Amy asked if anyone would like to take part in a blog hop. A blog hop is were several bloggers get togehter and at a set date and time we all blog about a specific subject and link to the others on the list. For this hop we have chosen to be a group who blog about a specific colour scheme and we choose to blog about those colours in a variety of ways. So if you are hopping you could find photography, scrapbooking, craft of all sorts, card making, cooking even. As long as it included the colours you're ok. So below is our hues for today..........................

I have decided to blog about things I have found on Pinterest. If you haven't joined in over there, why not. It's completely free and a brilliant idea. Basically you sign up for an account and you are then provided with a number of ''cyber'' pinboards. You also can get a direct link into your Internet header. All you have to do then is go on your normal travels on the Net. If you see a blogpost/craft/LO/scraplift/book, well basically anything you like then you press the ''Pin It'' button in your header and it asks you which board to pin to and to write

something about it.

I'll give you an example. The other days I went here to visit Clair and saw this beauty................

and pinned it to my Xmas board on Pinterest. The repinning went balistic and Clair is now Pinterest famous all because of my mad early Xmas ideas. At last count she had been repinned 27 times..............wowzers.

So here are a few things I have found around Pinterest which may tickle your fancy.

Here is some fabulous wedding vintage card bunting

Some beautiful vintage storage cases.

One of my favourite kinds of quotation posters

This lovely caravan fits the colours sort of and is a perfect picture.

Agh yes if the man of dreams arrives, this might be the perfect vintage gown to walk down the aisle to.

A beautiful field of poppies for the perfect red hues.

Yes please would love to make this

Scrapbooking goodness..............

And a little of the slate to finish.................

aw bless................

and something to make..............

And once they're pinned it's like having your own Smashbook online without the worry of losing it, too much glue etc. You click on the photo of your item and it takes you the site it came from. Clever huh? If you havent got an invite, I have 5 to give away if I can find my links.

Here is the list of lovely ladies hopping to day if you get lost:

http://amysoto.blogspot.com/

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com/

http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/

http:/handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com

http://www.vsws.typepad.com/

http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com/

http://www.scrapworthylives.com/http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com/

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com/........................YOU ARE HERE

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com/

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com/

http://www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com/

http://craftygoodies.blogspot.com/

http://scrapyourlife.net/

Your next stop in the hop is from here in South West England up to the North of England to another Jo who sounds like the exam time is weighing heavily on her shoulders as she is a teacher. Let's hope she has had some free time to destress and make something lovely for us to look at. Thanx for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop.

Today.............................

2011-06-17T14:31:00.001+01:00

So it is the end of the week and a few things have happened................

Today I went to visit my friend Nancy in Colorado (well her blog anyways) and found this list so I am completing it at her behest.

Today I hoped it wouldn't rain.........................yeah right it is doing just that as I write.

Today I dreamed

............a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving....................

Today I forgot to feel sad,

Today I heard that Benedict Cumberbatch is voicing the dragon in ''The Hobbit''.

Today I said ''I love you'' to my friend Luke

Today I read Alexa's blogpost and found her free digital downloads............

So I made this page in honour of her talent and also Mel's blogpost about scrapbooking pictures of yourself.

The papers and elements are by Meredith Cardall and called Apple Eye and can be found here. The type is Travelling Typewriter and Ali Edwards own font of her handwriting.

Today I watched the final episode of ''The Shadow Line'' which has been such a brilliant series on BBC2. If you've missed it then watch it on iplayer.

Today I believed that prayers are answered.

Today I felt happy for the first time in ages and my friend said it was lovely to hear me laugh, aw bless.

Today I wondered what would happen this weekend

Today I bought a Fry's Chocolate cream.....................yummy.

Today I cleaned the kitchen in readiness to make cupcakes for Father' day and my mum's birthday

Today I was me.

Please pop by tomorrow when I will be a part of the second Colour Combo bloghop.............

52 lists: things I have learnt on my travels.

2011-06-14T12:18:00.000+01:00

I first heard about this project from the lovely Mel, but missed out doing week one for a variety of reasons so I will have to have 51 lists I suppose. Anyway, the idea behind this project came from Kel who was inspired by the variety of lists on the Internet but wanted to do something slightly different. So the idea is to creat a list every week for 52 weeks and Kel puts up the idea each Sunday. I am doing mine today just because.

Anyway this weeks theme is things I have learnt on my travels so here are my 10:

Pack light..................I make a list of what I think I need and then remove over half of it. I take a towel which is a camping lightweight quick drying thing just in case but otherwise the basics. Make sure you take your E111 card if your going to Europe and you have travel insurance cover.

Try and take hand luggage only if going on a cheap flight as they charge you loads extra for stowing in the hold and it makes it easy to get off the plane and leave the airport swiftly.
Research where ur going as much as possible so you have a better understanding of the culture and place. It makes for a more enjoyable journey. Make sure you have plenty of photo storage software if you're taking lots of photos.

Take some risks. I often book flights and hotels online rather than through an agent cos you get a better deal. I have stayed in YWCA and hostels to save money in the USA and OZ and it was gr8. I met loads of fantastic people who I went on trips with.
If you're going on a longer vacation then plan in some downtime. Don't go all out for sightseeing everyday, you'll be exhausted.
Be careful with money, not everyone you speak to on the train going into the city is being friendly they may be picking your pocket.................yes I was robbed once but the guy seemed so nice!!! I now own one of these........................

Go where the locals go to eat, it's normally the best. My dad went to a restaurant in Florence and he and my mum were treated like one of the family by the end of their holiday...................no pun intended there it wasn't THAT kind of family.
Swap holiday reading, don't lug a load of books around. If I go with friends we take 2 books and swap when we've finished or swap with other travellers. You might find a fabulous new author.
Use different modes of transport to make your trip more economical. I love the train cos buses make me nauseous and I get ferry sick.
Have a marvellous time.

10 things on the 10th.............................part 1.

2011-06-10T09:00:00.039+01:00

As many of you my loyal readers know, I took part in Blogging for Scrapbookers and Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers with Shimelle Laine. Now Shimelle our marvellous teacher and blogfiend has initiated us into a new scheme......................fiendish or what? Well this scheme involves us all blogging 10 things on the 10th of each month. It can be 10 of anything so I put my thinking cap on and thought I would share 10 great crafty makes I have found recently online. They are all ideas to get the current trendy looks on your layouts but at a fraction of the price.
So here are my 10 finds in no particular order:

1. The first is from ScrappyStickyInkyMess and demonstrates how to make your own Baker's Twine using crochet twine and permanent marker pen. Such an ingenious idea and enables you to make twine which perfectly matches your own LO colour combinations.

2.Everyone is talking Smashbooks on the web and the Counterfeit Kit blog have a fabulous post detailing how to make your own. A great way to use up stash and have a book all of your own design. Shimelle also has a great discussion post about Smashbooks here.

3. How about a handy printable list to help you focus your photography for a month from Creating Keepsakes

4. Want to make your own feature flags for cupcakes or scrapbooking? Try this simple tutorial from Studio Calico.

5. Want to make your own Polaroid faux pictures. Then this free download from Fuzzimo is for you.

6. Pooi shows us how to make some beautiful handmade flowers using washi tape here on the American Crafts blog.

7. Using fabric on LOs is still in vogue and this tutorial demonstrates a brilliant idea for stamping on it.

8. There are still those of us who haven't made any ruffle flowers so here's a nice simple pictorial guide to follow.

9. Fancy using up lots of scraps using punches and origami? Then here is fabulous post showing how to make some brilliant paper flowers for your LOs and cards.

10. Finally a scrapbook sketch from Shimelle. Every week she pops up a brilliant idea on her site to assist us when our mojo is flailing or when we just need that little bit of help in deciding what to do. This weeks involves a panoramic picture and I have just the photos I would like to use.

Hope you have enjoyed my 10 on the 10th and see you all back here on the 10th July for part 2. And do hop over to Shimelle's blog to see the other peeps taking part today.

Sketch of the Week with Shimelle.

2011-06-09T16:25:00.000+01:00

Every week, Shimelle posts a sketch of the week and this is the first one I have completed. I was inspired as it is based on a panorama picture. Here is the post link.

The sketch this week is this one and Shimelle has very generously completed a video demonstration as well of a second LO.

This sketch really inspired me from the first because of the panoramic photograph Shimelle used of Wellington, New Zealand. In the days before Photoshop and being able to merge photos to make a complete panorama, or buying a disposable panoramic camera, we had to stand in one spot and take several photos of a view using strategic points as guides for when the photos were developed. The photo I had, is one from my first trip to America back in 1993 when my friend Louise and I flew to New York and then travelled by train via Washington DC, Richmond, Savannah and Mouseland and then flew home after 3 weeks of fun. The photo is of the Manhattan skyline.

These 3 photographs were taken from the ferry across to the Statue of Liberty. You can see the Manhattan skyline as it was in 1993 and Ellis Island which is where the immigrant families to the USA were seen before arriving in New York. This was taken on our first full day in New York and we were so excited to be going to the Statue of Liberty. We literally ran from the ferry to the queue to climb up inside her so we didn't have to wait too long. I have photograph of myself and Louise standing up inside her coronet in my album which I will get around to scrapbooking. Looking back on this photo though reminds me of how that skyline has now changed because of the loss of the Twin Towers. I am so glad I have this picture of what New York once looked like, but also as a reminder of that tragic event.

But is it art.......................the Pre-Rapaelites and why I love them.

2011-06-08T14:42:00.000+01:00

Today I thought I would digress from the scrapbooking and talk about something else I love................Art. I was lucky enough to do Study of Art as an O'level at school and we had a brilliant teacher who was passionate about and knowledgeable about his subject. We learnt about the artists as much as the art and how they had lived and worked to produce their work. I remember my first trip to an art gallery in Paris with our group to see the Impressionist paintings. I remember the colour and style and I remember the feeling looking at these pieces of work up close. But it was one particular group of artists who inspired me the most, the Pre-Raphaelites.

The first picture I ever saw up close by a Pre-Raphaelite painter was this one................

This painting is called Ophelia and was painted by John Everett Millais. Most of us know the story of Ophelia's death by drowning in Hamlet but I have never found a painting to be so evocative. When you learn about how Millais painted the picture it gives you insight into the processes and workmanship which went into it. Firstly he painted the actual scenery on location. The one aim of the Pre-Raphaelites, and there were several, was to paint nature and as up close as possible. So they went and painted where the nature was. The colours are always strong and this is because, unlike other painters of the time, they always painted onto a white painted background on their canvases. As for the figure of Opehlia herself, she was a young woman called Lizzie Siddell the wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and often model of the artists. She was painted fully clothed in that dress in a large bath of water which was heated from below to prevent her catching cold although she did apparently become ill after this painting was completed. Not surprisingly you might say. If you want to see this painting it is on permanent display at The Tate Gallery in London and covers virtually a whole wall. It is in an ornately decorated frame and you can see so much detail in this picture that the photo does not do it justice.

When I was confimed, I was given this as a picture in a frame. At that age I had no idea who or what it was or what it represented but it wasn't until I was doing my classes that I learned all about the artist Holman Hunt, and the story around it.

The picture depicts Jesus as the light of the world and he is knocking at the door of our hearts. As it says in the Bible......................................

''Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me''.

Religion and literature played a huge part in the painter's choice of what they painted. However they also painted social issues as well. The Light of the World is meant to be viewed next to this painting............

The young woman here could be responding to that image, her conscience pricked by something outside of herself. She is meant to be the mistress of the man holding her back. Much of the imagery in the painting denotes her fallen status and her position in society.

This painting was not a true Pre-Raphaelite picture in that it was painted by a associate of their group Frederic Lord Leighton. My friends bought me a poster of this painting for my 30th birthday knowing how much I love the Pre-Raphaelites and I wake up every morning looking at her on my wall. She is called ''Flaming June'' and is widely held to be Lord Leighton's greatest work.

Many places have Pre-Raphaelite paintings and also design and furniture. William Morris was a Pre-Raphaelite painter before he designed beautiful textiles and ceramics. Many churches have stained glass windows designed by the painters. I was lucky enough to go to an exhibition several years ago by one of our greatest lovers of this group Andrew Lloyd Webber. The exhibit was amazing. To see so many paintings, and pieces from one man's colllection all in one place was truly inspiring. If you ever get the chance to go and see any of their paintings or other works I can assure you you won't regret it.

I may make this a regular series on artists I love as there are a few. I may even throw in the odd bit of poetry, not my own I might add.

Who are your favourites and would a little series be interesting to you?

Summer Minibook part 1.

2011-06-07T17:45:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I told you I was working on another project which I have finished the bare bones of. It is the Elle's Studio's Summer Minibook. I saw the kit for this advertised several weeks ago and bought it as I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different just focusing on key events over the summer months. The kit contents include all of this which I received on the weekend.

It all arrived looking very lovely and Elle's Studio sent a pdf tutorial to complete the book via email. Now I am all for tutorials but wanted to mess around as well so my book does look a little different to their version, but hey that's the beauty of scrapbooking isn't it?

So I will walk you through my process,

I normally start at the beginning with the front cover. I already pre-cut the papers provided to 5 x 7 inches and had punched the holes in them using my crop-o-diel to save time. I then put those papers together using the book rings and place them separately. For the cover I used a paper provided and suggested by the tutorial. I added the papers and labels suggested but then made my own flower embellishments from TimHoltz paper tape and some ribbon and buttons. As the paper rose is on the cover I have painted it with Glimmer Glam by Tattered Angel for strength and glitteriness. I also used a Tim Holtz butterfly sticker.

I then work through the book usually doing the front/back page and then the back pages before completing the internal pages. The inside cover was covered with patterned paper and then a mask was made and sprayed through using the shimmer spray supplied. The lil banner for the year is from the supplies and the bird is cut from the patterned paper. The baker's twine is my own. On the right hand page I used an idea taught by Heidi Swapp in a class from Jessica Sprague. It involves pleating vintage paper/music onto glue and then painting with Glimmer glam for strenghth and glitteriness.

For the back page I used the same paper as the front cover. The cute label tag is from the packaging for the kit to which I added some ribbon and stickers.

Then I work on the internal pages..........

I dont always have a plan for the order necessarily but I will try and link the pages with the trims and embellishments. Tabs for each month were provided so this helped focus the pages a little. I used some extra stash I had to mix and match the products provided.

I also used some punches on the pages and some tags.................

For the above page I used little pieces of paper scraps and fabric. The literary pieces are from the roll of gaffer tape. I cut the tape in half length ways so it went further.

I also added in an envelope for memorabilia. I may use another one as I work on the book during the summer months.

The little house is the card used to wrap the trims around. I have actually stuck it to card so it opens like a small book to make more space for pictures and journalling.

So those are the internal pages completed. I will probably play with the order as the book gets filled and add extra bits depending upon how many pages I need. I have been left with some spare papers and trims so I found some plain tags and made some pretty journalling or embellishment tags to use. I will also stick some photos back to back as pages once printed at 6 x 4.

I have a couple of fun events this month involving family so I will start showing how the book gets completed as a series.

Also there will be a new blog event coming on Friday with Shimelle and our Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers alumni.

Get your craft on baby..................

2011-06-06T18:19:00.000+01:00

Not quite sure what's been happening, maybe I'm making up for lost mojo, but the scrapbooking has been going exceedingly well thank you Mr Kipling!

This weekend I have made 1 double page LO and a single page LO based around Shimelle's 4x6 photolove pages, and 2 class LOs.

If you havent heard of Shimelle's 4x6 photo love then you can find more about it on Shimelle's site or here at Two Peas in a Bucket. The basic idea is that each month Shimelle scrapbooks 4x6 photos and the number of the month denotes the number of photographs used. So in January you use 1 and by December there will be 12. Now when you see my LOs based on her pages you will spot 2 mistakes. The first came about when I realsied that the photos I had ordered only came in at 4x51/4 so there is a gap down each side of the page. The second is in the double page spread there were meant to be 5 photos however, silly me forgot that and already out in her embellies and realised her photo didnt fit the LO anyway. So the moral is...................either get the right photos, remember the number ur working with or else just go for your own design!
Anyway here is the double page LO and Shimelle's original design.................

I have been trying to use up the millions of photos I took for Luke's birthday weekend and am getting there thankfully. The double page LO is all about the fountains behind Sheffield City Hall. I used one pre-made embelly for the labels and then 2 handmade ones. I only used 3 papers here and used each side to mix and match,

This next single page LO is another 4x6 photolove scraplift using 4 photos, one hidden under a decorated piece of cardstock and shows the Sheffield Eye...............

This is a closeup of the decorated card flap....................

....................and he are the birthday boy and myself hidden under the flap.

The last 2 LOs are from classes. The first is from crop and is a LO using a mitred frame in 3D relief and loads of handcut embellishments. Not my cup of tea cos I find it so fiddly and time consuming. Anyway it turned out well, with some added bling in the form of stickles and butterflies.

We made fabric flowers as well which I embellieshed later with some blinged pins and cute buttons.

This final LO is a class taught from an online website I subscribe to called Miss Arts Papercrafting School. It starts at a $5 subscription up to $15.00 and there are several classes a month which have video guidance and some pdf files too. The $15.00 subscription also allows access to all levels of classes and 90 days of library class access.

The lady who taught this class was really inspiring and the above LO is made using Prima papers, vintage music sheets and cardstock along with some Prima stickers. So I will try and descrinbe the process you go through. First you have to cut out the centre of the patterned paper around the design, next you cut out the cardstock slightly reduced in size. These 2 pieces are then stuck together with 3D foam. The vintage sheet music is then cut into strips and smooshed and crumples, inked and then pleated all the way around the inside of the cardstock to form another layer and frame. Finally a third layer of cardstock is attached to the back of the 3D frames. The photo slides in behind the musci and the butterflies, bling and title were added. I really enjoyed this LO as it romantic and used alot of bits I already had in my stash.

This is a closeup of the layers of embellishments of flowers in the top lefthand corner of the LO. You can see the sheet music I described abit more closely too.

So tonight, Shimelle is sending something for us Beyond Blogging for scrapbookers and I am finishing my summer minibook using a kit from Elle's Studios. More on that another time.
Phew arent you exhausted now? Time to sit back and enjoy the new edition of Mollie Makes which arrive today.

JoJoxxx

Storyteller Sunday.............The Hospital Ball.

2011-06-05T09:00:00.010+01:00

Do do do doodo, dodododoooooo do do do do do do do......................(sung to East Ender's theme tune)...........welcome to storytelling Sunday this month brought to you from 24 years ago in Bethnal Green/Bow.

As a student nurse, one of the grandest occasions we could attend was the Medical College Ball and in 1987, my flatmates, friends and I did just that. The actual event itself is not as memorable as the build-up to the evening and the evening itself which, if not for some kind neighbour's, police and an open window might not have happened at all.

So my flatmate and fellow nursing student PJ and I had got the tickets for the ball which was to be held in a posh hotel in Park Lane. My mu was roped into making the ballgowns and they were gorgeous. Jane had a full length black satin number and I had a shot-green emerald green taffeta gown. Both were fully boned and full length. My mum worked really hard to make them fit perfectly, and longevity wise mine is still looking amazing in her wardrobe at home., apparently. I bought myself some costume jewellery from one of the market stalls in Whitechapel and I still have my beautiful fake emerald earrings in my jewellery box, want to see?

If you've not seen shot taffeta this is the exact colours of my dress as modelled very beautifully by, let's face it a model. Mine was full skirted like this and fitted from the waist up with a strap over one shoulder and a flat bow on the shoulder too.................it was lovely.

PJ's boyfriend Bob was her escort and as I was sadly single my hunky cousin agreed to take me. The rest of our group was my friend Lou and her husband Mark.

The day of the ball came and we were all getting ready when disaster one struck. My cousin rang to say '' My car has exploded At Hendon and it'll take a bit longer to get to you!''. What he didnt say was he had no idea where in Hendon he was or how to get to the tube.

''Don't worry'' I said through gritted teeth ''Just get here''.

Everyone else was ready so I sent them off to the hotel with instructions to get me a glass of wine and make sure my meal wasnt eaten by someone else...............I'd been starving myself all day to fit into the boned dress of course.
Then I sat a waiting patiently for the cousin to get there. I have to say I was very calm as far as I can remember. Looking out the window I saw one of my ex-patients coming up the road with her parents and called down a ''Hello''. They knew I was going to the ball so I said I'd come down and show her my dress. Then disaster 2..............................can you guess? Yep door slammed shut, Jo has no keys, I mean remember Dr Who Christmas episode ''The Runaway Bride''? As Catherine Tate so eloquently put it ''When I went for my fitting at the bridal shop I should have asked for pockets!'' in sarcastic tone.........................whoops. So there I am in the middle of the East End in a full length ballgown pretending like I'm not panicking cos I cant get back in the flat. Anyway, good deed done, off they toddle and I'm standing there like a dressmakers dummy wondering what to do. So bright idea I'll knock on the neighbours door. They are very kind and offer to phone the police/fire/anyone really to get me back in. So there we all are in their parlour drinking sherry would you believe when screaming sirens can be heard. I swear they sped up there like the Sweeney (1970s cop show for the uninitiated among us) all the way from Limehouse our local nick (East End lingo for Police station). Mention the word ''nurse in distress'' and in those days that was the reaction. They were quite nice too. So a very nice policeman climbed up onto the next door neighbour's flat roof and climbed into PJ's room through her amazingly open window and came down to let me in. Yey for the Eastend copper I say. So in I go and not long after that the cousin turns up.

''What an evening'' he says.....................

''You dont know the half of it'' I reply with a knowing look on my face.

Looking back I remember little else about the ball really cos the story up until then was so funny and mad. All I really remember is on the way home in the taxi, there was no room for PJ so she had to stick her feet out of the window and lie across the rest of us. It was certainly a night to remember and a story worth sharing.

Owl mail..........................

2011-05-20T15:03:00.000+01:00

The other day this lovely blog friend sent me a mysterious email saying she had sent something to me. It got even more mysterious when she wrote a second time saying it was coming via someone else. Being abit of a sleuth I put on my best Miss Marple knitted cardi and hat and wondered what could it be. Well today, a lovely parcel arrived and this is what it was......

A lil note from Fiona with what Lizzie said..........................aww bless her.

It's a notebook with a fabric book cover. It is I think linene or calico with appliqued owls (which I adore), which have then been embroidered. The book cover is beautifully made, very neat stitches (much better than mine) and the lady who designed and made it is called Fiona T. You can find her work here and here. Now for the purposes of not seeing how much my lovely gift was I havent visited yet, so you'll have to pop over and see for yourselves. I'll check it out later. If Fiona's work is anything like this it will be a beautiful site.

As today is not one of my best so far, it put a lovely smile on my face and made me so glad I have my blog and the amazing friends I have had the privilege to make during my blogging time. You certainly know how to make me feel special.

Thank you...............

Today I am.......................

2011-05-18T17:28:00.000+01:00

......................in the mood to celebrate something I made and other interesting places on the web.

Here is my completed iphone cover from yesterday's post. I had to use my own fluorescent felt for the piece under the scallops as I neede the full width of the grey felt to go around my phone. I used all the other felt pieces as per the instructions and am really pleased with the finished piece. So is my iphone as you can tell.

One very happy pink iphone................................

and here is my version next to the version on the ''packet''. I'm glad I used the extra pink and yellow, I like their freshness plus the pink matches my phone.

As a child I used to go hunting pink elephants in the New Forset and still do with lil people now. Today on facebook, I was sen a link to this facebook page linked into Mind. This is a UK organisation supporting people with mental health problems like myself. The ''elephant in the room'' is all about talking to people in the workplace about mental health issues and their emblem is a pink elephant. Please give your support if you feel this is a good idea.

Elle's Studio have a new project kit thingy there'll be starting in a week and have a sneak peek here. I love sneak peeks dont you?

My friend Luke has caused me to go over to the dark side in that I am now obsessed with Drop Dead Diva, a US show which I have to say makes me want to be the main character. She is a fuller figured (yes this is US tv) lawyer who is body confident, sophisticated, and can sing amazingly well. I so want to be her I can feel it in my veins.

Not only am I obsessed but I am mourning the near loss of my other faves Bones, which ends tonight and Glee which ends next week. If you haven't seen ''Funeral'' then get a box of hankies ready cos it is well sad. You have been forwarned.

Drum roll please.............

2011-05-17T19:39:00.000+01:00

So as promised I can reveal, drum roll please, that the winner of my giveaway from the Colour Combo Hop is Cheryl.....................please send me your email to josowerby@yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk and I will get the class sorted for you.
The bloghop was such a success that Amy is already planning the next hop for next month and I am making a button/widget.

Second drumroll is for this new magazine which hit the shelves on the 12th May in the UK and should hit the USA soon. Apparently it has been so well subscribed to that the first issue has already sold out..............wow. Better subscribe I think and there is a gr8 offer for three issue as a special price of £5.00 at the moment. Each subscribed issue gets a free ''make'' gift. This months is an i-phone felt cover, which I have almost completed. Here is Nat's version. Mine is bigger as I have a bigger phone due to it's protective outer shell. Once complete I will put up the photo.
The magazine has been really well put together, there are sections for making, blog and book suggestions, shopping guides, a hopefully regular feature of craft rooms...........pretty. At £4.99 I think the magazine is well priced and has something for every crafter. Now that copies are like gold dust, you may have to check out issue 2 in June but you may get lucky.

Luke's minibook part 2.

2011-05-15T17:40:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone, thank you all so much for hopping by yesterday and joining us in our bloghop. Amy is so pleased with how it went that she is already planning another one next month...............more details to follow. The hop certainly has improved my mojo and I finished Luke's minibook, remember this post? Please check it out to read about the background for the minibook.

Anyway, I have not done any scrapbooking for ages and to finally want to do some was brilliant. I have had 3 days of not crying once which is pretty gr8 so I was pleased to finally complete this book. I enjoyed doing something really different, using up alot of supplies and also repurposing things too.

So here are the pictures of the rest of the pages, some are repeated as they have had extra bits added and I will let you know what I did as we go along.

This is the page which had been collaged and was empty of photos, I added these 2 pictures which is had scuffed up to make them less ''pretty'', then I added the monocle to highlight the image of Luke and his then partner.

The wording on this picture says ''secret'' as the envelop hides a personal picture no-one else needs to see. The denim is a pocket from the jeans and the pirate skull is from Tim Holtz grungeboard.

I added some bunting made from jeans and spare paper to this page and the flower is made from some material I had which is made using the twisted technique and applied to a bottle top and a button to finish off.

The picture above and the previous one are both mounted on acetate packaging. I added a Prima flower as it has the girlies in it.........................why not?

The above page is another collaged page. I added a clear crackle paint on top to fix it and then added some gilt metal paint to highlight the crackles. I then made the fairy wings using some grungeboard shapes I had, painted with Picket fence crackle paint and then added the gilt paint on top again.

This page has cardboard packaging top and bottom which is an element used throughout the book. More flowers on bottle tops and buttons and the wording says ''Vogue'' which is what Tref looks like he's doing.

Another double-sided acetate page. This page has added ribbon and a gilt crown made in the same way as the wings described earlier. The title is ''B.day boy'' and all b.day boys deserve a flashy hat don't they?

This page is called ''Friends'' and is simple but I coloured the lace with an inked pad and added some bling. The ring supports are by Tim Holtz as is the film tape at the top.

The back of the book is made using a large jeans pocket. I made a tag from chipboard and added a picture of Luke the day after when we went to the park. I added a date some ricrac and buttons another flower and finally some coloured chipboard letters on canvas coloured with distress inks.

Here are 2 pictures of the complete book which I really love. Luke thinks he's getting it, shame that cos I'm keeping it for myself I'm afraid.

Don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's bloghop post for a chance to win a Shimelle class free. It's open until tomorrow night and I will draw a winner Tuesday.

Colour combo bloghop.

2011-05-14T13:42:00.000+01:00

Good morning everyone and welcome to my part of the Colour combo bloghop arranged by the lovely Amy and featuring a lovely group of bloggers who apparently met on a Shimelle class called Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers. I have taken part in a number of hops now so I have enjoyed preparing my page for today.
As you have probably gathered the idea is based on a combination of colours which Amy found and sent us, here is the picture and colour combination...............

You should have arrived from the lovely Rebekah over here , she has the most beautiful blog header and some wonderful tutorials' cards and recipe ideas. Yummy. If not and you are just a routine friend popping to see where I've been please do pop on over to visit the rest of our hop, the list of the whole hop is at the end of this post.

I have been having a rough time recently with my Bipolar and I have wanted to do a page which reflects something simple but important about me. I have been listening alot to Lady Gaga which is pretty cool and love ''Born this way'', the lyrics seemed to have been written for me. So here is my layout entitles Born this Way......

I used a piece of Bassill cardstock and then 2 strips of patterned paper cut using border punches. I inked the edges of these strips to match the colour combo and then added a strip of ruffled ribbon at the bottom and the ricrac for the neutral colour shades.The picture is a favourite of me at my sister's 40th a couple of years ago and I used a Photobooth application.

All you have to do is upload 4 pictures of your choice and hey presto. I used the same one as I only had one but I like the effect. I made the rossettes myself and punched the edges again to reflect the patterned paper background strips. They were inked with a brown soft ink and then I had Tim Holtz button and another from a kit I added. The doilie is neutral lace again, and the flower is from Prima.

I then had some Jenni Bowlin butterfly stickers and some bling for their trails from Basic Grey which I added to pretty them up more. The flower is from a recent Scrapbooking from the Inside out kit.

So that's my layout and I enjoyed being restricted to certain colours, it focussed me more so I might have to try this more often. So now I have a small giveaway for you. I have a place on Shimelle's little class called ''When I grow up''. All you have to do is leave me a comment by Monday of this week and I will draw a name out of the hat on Tuesday to let you know who has won.

The final stop on our hop is over the other side of the world in Asia with the wonderful Xnomads who not only does some brilliant classes and photography, but tells us wonderful tales from her life in Asia with her family.

http://amysoto.blogspot.com

http://scrappin24-7.blogspot.com/

http://scribblesstickingstitchingstroking.blogspot.com/

http://throughthecameralens.typepad.com

http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/

http://blog.mshanhun.com

http://alyssephotographs.blogspot.com/

http://www.calendulafitzpatrick.blogspot.com

http://spud-pickle.blogspot.com

www.scrappingmojo.blogspot.com

www.MichelleRoycroft.blogspot.com

http://handmadebykirsty.blogspot.com

http://www.vsws.typepad.com

http://scrapyourlife.net

http://sugarandscrap.blogspot.com

http://snapsandsnippets.blogspot.com

http://craftygoodies.blogspot.com

http://adriennefalzon.blogspot.com

http://airbs.blogspot.com/

http://1200somemiles.blogspot.com

http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com

http://www.curlyscrapbooker.blogspot.com

http://xnomads.typepad.com/

Help and advise.

2011-05-03T11:45:00.000+01:00

Some of you may have noticed that I have made a few updates to the blog over the past few days. This has been partly in response to Shimelle's class and also to my personal plans for improving my blogging and blog design. I have started adding some new pages to the site and I would really value your help in how you think it is progressing.

I have added a more detailed description of my and wonder if you feel there is too much details. Having read other peoples I think I prefer saying a little more about myself than less maybe because I am that type of person. I have tried to focus on my interests though. I have also begun adding in some classes I have done so my readers have a chance to see where my knowledge and interests have been expanded. I will be gradually adding to this. I have also added a page about my Bipolar. I have written about this before on the main blog but now feel that it should be seperate so that I can explore some of my experiences in a different way. I want to provide a link to others who have experienced or have friends/family who are experiencing these kinds of experiences too. This has been in response to the fact that I am currently again going through a depression period which is tough. I hate it and I find sometimes writing can help me get over it better. Sharing some of this with you is cathartic and I have always found you all so supportive.

I would really value your advise on whether the LO of the pages is ok and what I could add. Are there other pages you like to see on blogs and if so what makes them stand out? My personal favourite is Nancy's, she has a really classy way of setting things out. What do you think?

I would truly value your input dear readers in developing this place for you and future readers, so feel free to comment your views.

Jo Jo xxxx

Storytelling Sunday....................A Royal rendevous.

2011-04-30T19:44:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I was chatting with Sian and telling her my idea for today's post, and she said ''Go with it''. So here goes.

So 2 days a go we were all either watching or avoiding the Royal wedding and about 30 years ago I was watching the wedding of William's mother to HRH Prince Charles. It was such an amazing day and the country were so into Diana, Princess of Wales that they decided to do a tour of her gown.

The wedding gown designed by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel.

My family, me, Rachel, the mother, the father and my mum's parents had all gone down for a holiday near Looe in Cornwall. We were staying in a pre-Centre Parcs type outdoor log cabin park with views over the lake. It was beautiful. Anyway one day we planned a trip to Truro especially to see Diana's dress. My mum, me, Rachel and my nan queued for several hours outside the exhibit. We entertained ourselves until we got in, I dont know how cos it did seem like forever. But eventually we got to the front of the queue. My poor nan didnt go in in the end cos she was so sore and uncomfy from standing, she'd only recently had hip troubles, so just me, mum and Rachel went in. All the bridesmaids and pageboy outfits were on display in glass cases along with the piece de resisdence that frock. It was amazing to actually get close enough to see all the tiny details on the dresses. The extra special bows, and embellishments which the TV and magazines couldn't show you. We oohed and arhged as we went around. We then had to go back and tell my nan all the details.

The dress, bridesmaid's dress and shoes etc.

Several years later, my girlfriends and I had the opportunity to visit Kensington Palace on my friend's hen weekend to see a similar display of the Queen's and other Royal dignitary's wedding gowns. If I remember rightly we saw the Queen Mother's, Queen Victoria's and I think Princess Margaret's dresses.

I remember we were all really impressed again by the detail and workmanship which had gone into these beautiful pieces. Evene though they were such personal dresses to the bride, they were also a mark of British work and craft history. Just like Kate Middleton's dress on Friday there were elements of national and personal significance. To be able to see those dresses up close was n exciting opportunity to feel like a part of history. If you ever get the chance to see any of the Royal exhibition where dresses are central, give it a go, you'll be impressed I can assure you.

It was a really great way to start a hen weekend as well. We then went to see ''Mamma Mia'' which is always worth a return visit. Happy Sunday.

Kiss, kiss, kiss,

2011-04-29T13:43:00.000+01:00

............................so they did.....................

One wedding and a birthday.

2011-04-29T12:56:00.000+01:00

One of the great films of the 90s was 4 wedding and a funeral and in honour of that film's title I decided to use it for my own purposes. Today I would like to tell you 2 stories.............a sort of early storytelling Sunday if you like. Today is special for 2 key reasons and the first is a special birthday.

Debs over at Purple Turtle is a fabulous scrapbooker and blogger and today she is celebrating with her mom whose birthday it is. Along with her family, Deb's blog family are all celebrating her mum Marti's birthday as well. Why, well because Marti was diagnosed with cancer. Deb and her family have been sharing this story by the use of special teal wristbands and her blog family are celebrating today by becoming Team Teal. There are some wonderful messages and stories across the blogosphere in celebration of fights against cancer and also Marti's bday. You can read Deb's story here and today's birthday messages are linked from this post today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTI.

The second story is of course the wedding of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton today in London. I remember William's parent's wedding back in the 1980s. We had the day off school and I remember being awake really early and waiting patiently with my family for the celebrations to begin. There had been a huge party and fireworks the night before which we had all watched. The weather was beautiful and the wedding when it arrived was spectacular. Big meringue dresses, flowers, music and carriage rides followed by big Royal excitement and kisses on balconies. Today of course has been spectacular but I feel it is more understated. The dress was kept mega secret until it was seen through the car. The designer a Brit from the home of McQueen who we so sadly lost last year. So now after all the excitement so far a few pictures to keep you going until that balcony scene and an RAF flypast.