The Royal Wedding

I remember the last ‘fairytale’ royal wedding. Diana was beautiful, blushing and as I saw it a ‘real’ princess. I was 7 so I didn’t understand much beyond the excitement, dress, ceremony and oh, *sigh* the dress. I remember how beautiful she was, the fete we had at school the day before and sitting at home with my Mum and Granny watching it.

I remember how excited I was seeing the first official photos of Prince William on tour in Australia in his lovely romper suit.

Also thinking how awful it was that I was too old for him and that I would never marry the future king!

Well Kate Middleton has done for me completely!

Big Corporate Supermarket Boss is very kindly giving me an extra day off to see it and I can’t wait. I shall watch all of it and then planning to open the back gate to our lane and having the local kids come by for burgers and cakes.

I shall let you know what I thought after it’s all over.

 

I didn’t take these photos. I know I have surprised you there.

I know Mario Testino took the last one and they are all reproduced here from google images.

What are you doing to celebrate or are you a republican? Actually, if you are a republican, I don’t think I want to know today.

My ordinary day…so, so ordinary.

There is no way to soften this up for you or for me, the following all takes place in one ordinary day for me.

 

So far so good…..I guess a lot of us start out with this or it’s equivalent.

A chance to catch up with the chat on my social group and some blogs on the reader whilst I add the slap to the face and sip the coffee. I guess a lot of us in this crafting world can relate to this too.

I leave at 7-7:15 so I don’t get to see the kids before I go on work days.

My commute view, now you’ll be glad to know I don’t get out and enjoy the view everyday. However, to record my day or if there is some great weather I will take the camera along for a jaunt.

As you look at the photo I travel out of the left of the photo down through the valley to the bridge and along the other side of the estuary to my work. It takes about 40 minutes to get there.

Now an exciting photo coming up here, brace yourselves.

The red lights make my skin itch, unless I need a drink of water and I have a screw cap instead of a sports cap, then it’s ok, skin doesn’t itch…..moving on.

This one’s gonna flay you.

I told you, just flayed.

I actually do really enjoy my job and I know it has to be done as X-box cost the earth. Stash doesn’t though, just X-box, bad

Now, try to contain yourself, it’s my desk.

Well we don’t really have desks or offices in the traditional sense at Tesco, just somewhere to rest our hats if we need to do some project work. I have a project this weekend, hence the, um, project work. I know, my files and stuff are so glamorous.

Enough of that, imagine it all in reverse and I’m home again.

As you can see I literally flung this in the pan and cooked it and then flung it in the dish and ate it. I can see now that dragging myself outside to get some basil would have improved the look of this and  the flavour.

My favourite mug called RSM with hot chocolate in it and my sleep time.

What happened in between the dinner and bedtime?

Well, small child tantrum, wowsers, I haven’t seen that for a long time, he is 6! Well it wasn’t pretty and he took some taking down.

It didn’t seem appropriate to take his photo

We did then apply for tickets for the olympics, we could only afford one set for the family so I hope we get them!

As you can see, I know how to live it up.

My Day in Photos

EGGsellent Fun

Last week’s Scrap Map Challenge at Creative Craft World was to scrap Easter. So, after the usual chaos, and now the chocolate is in bits in their tubs, I have finished it.

I have spent quite a bit of time sorting out my stash this weekend and I was amazed to find I had nearly a whole sheet of Basic Grey Lime Rickey

and with the few offcuts I had left I used it to embrace the brightness of these photos. I’m not very good with lots of colours but i’m pleased enough with it.

If you can squint carefully you will notice in the top right corner of the above photo a certain amount of odd distressing…………

this is what happened when I left the cardstock to rest on the hob at our recent retreat. I then didn’t notice that I had leaned on the hob control turning it on.

Laura came in to the kitchen and said ‘what’s burning?’, we thought she had some pregnancy related nasal oddity, but then we realised my cardstock was on fire. I took it outside and amazingly it didn’t burn, just singed. I thought it would probably come in handy. It did today as i’m running low on cardstock and thoughts of Laura are quite apt this evening.

Her pregnancy is being ushered onto it’s end tonight as she has been taken in for inducement. I am thinking of you Laura, I hope it all goes on very quickly and we will have some news soon.

Susibee

Susi is a bijoux belle, and she has made me feel so welcome since I joined the team over at UKScrappers She was the force behind our recent retreat; it was my first retreat but their second and she has organised both. It was brilliant and I must blog about it soon.
She is a real bustler, making sure everything is perfect and taking care of everyone, a skill I really admire.

This was the stash I picked, including some great ‘crate paper’ that Sue gave me, thanks, Sue.
I also used some gold thread to stitch around the circle and the 12x12. I didn’t end up using the balloon stamps, the cog, the tag or the white journaling pen. Funny how they evolve aren’t they?
I used the Tim Holtz tattered banners die to cut grungeboard and painted with ranger paint dabbers, lake mist, juniper and pink sherbet. I stamped over it with a paperartsy ‘stamp of approval’.



5 Things I love about Susi.
1. She is interested in everyone and asks lots of questions which gets lots of conversations going. She has a great sense of humour and loves the silliness of things.
2. She is the first one round to give you a cuddle, virtually, and you know she would be there in person too, if she could.
3. She has a lovely family, of which I have met her lovely husband and daughter; Chris and Holly.
4. She can craft like a wizard. Her work is superb, really detailed and imaginative. I have also been on the glad receiving end of a Susi card which is extra-special as they are all fantastic.
5. She has the most fab jewellry, which goes with whatever she is wearing and that she is dotty about red spotty things!
The journaling reads: “Susi is…smashing, super, sincere, smart, smiley, short and special x”
I enjoyed making this one of you Susi and it will be up next to Sue’s in the scrap/bedroom!

Life is mostly froth and bubbles.

 

We all lost half an hour in the sun today blowing bubbles. Life is mostly froth and bubbles seems like a good phrase today;

I advised Alex to blow more softly and steadily and he listened!

That was the bubbles, the rest of the froth was in a lovely trip up to Exmoor with Mum, Dad, Louis, Alex, Fudge & Minty. Dad felt a lot better and was really chirpy today. The doc got the pain under control yesterday; he had 9 hours sleep and was able to eat his weetabix this morning so he was good to go for a trip out!

The wildlife of exmoor….

The hazy view of Porlock…..

Watering Minty…

All of them under coercion…

I really told the dogs off for not looking at the camera, but they didn’t listen, as you can see!

Alex and I also went to see Rio at the cinema, you’ll be pleased to know I didn’t take the camera.

I also made cakes.

The poor chick didn’t know the cake I sat him on was burnt-ish,

he looks so proud I couldn’t bring myself to.

xx

Steamer Day

When we lived on Lundy steamer day meant harder work for everyone, it was three times a week through the season and approximately 700 visitors would step ashore. First, they had to get off the steamer usually the MS Balmoral and step onto one of the launches. I can still remember the excitement of stepping out of the big ship into the little boat bobbing next to it; as this was how as islanders, we travelled to the mainland too.

There were 3 launches and Dad manned one of them (after helping bake the bread in the morning!)

The launch scrunching onto the beach and that is Mum in the technicolour poncho, it was brown, orange and yellow mmmmmmm. There was a landing bay so visitors didn’t have to get their feet wet but in the winter months it was sometimes safer to just get your feet wet!

I love this photo of him smiling, this was the east side of Lundy where it was sheltered from the prevailing weather and so of course where the landing beach was.

I have used April 2nd Scrap Map from Sarah over at Creative Craft World and also co-incidentally the colour palette from UKS The Scrap Factor contest. It was a bit wierd as I had just bought ‘aged mahogany’ distress ink and golden mint cosmic shimmer mist which I wanted to use and when I tested them I was surprised at how nicely they went together. The pp is Tim Holtz and I have also used his cogs sizzix alterations die and texture fades.

Off to the next project now…with more than a hint of saltwater in my senses.

Team Leader Sue

Sue invited me into the Bijoux Belles social group over at UK Scrappers, she was so lovely, gracious and open when she invited me that I felt straight at home.
This is how I choose to add her to the Hall Of Fame!

5 things I love about Sue
1. Her calm and diplomatic manner which is twinned with a naughty, funny and precise point of view.
2. She knows just when you need something extra, whether it is an extra hug, email, ‘shout out’ on the thread or a parcel.
3. She links up the things that she finds interesting which give me lots of diverting pleasures.
4. Her crafting is superb and she puts so much work into it, the detail is extraordinary and no part of her layouts are left ‘untouched’.
5. She is so supportive of the family unit, whether it is her relatives or friends in whatever shape or form (online or next door), she is interested, involved and ‘in there’.

This entire layout is made with patterned paper that Sue gave me recently to cheer me up and some spotty ribbon that she sent at christmas. 
I have used the Saturday Scrap Map Challenge over at Creative Craft World, which Sue designs for, thanks for the sketch Lou.


So this is for you Sue.

Bijoux Belles Series One

Since I joined the Bijoux Belles, a team on UKS, last June I have met some fabulous ladies. Now, that is a fairly broad ordinary statement about what has happened to me; in detail is going to take a bit longer to describe.

I thought I might scrap it instead, just for me. I want something tangible to look at as well as description of how I feel about it. I thought I might do a series about the ladies, some will be easier than others as I haven’t met everyone in the flesh. A lot will be easier as we are completing a circle journal for some of us this year.

Suffice to say, the team has given me a focus for my hobby/addiction and in the making has made me some real friends, ones that I can build and maintain and hopefully sustain. Because, it fits in with my busy life, I wouldn’t be able to sustain and maintain this in the ‘normal’ world because I don’t have much ‘convenient’ time to go out in the evening, for coffee or whatever at the weekend etc. 

I will be starting with our esteemed Team Leader, the remarkable Sue, aka MiniOwner.

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby….

 

Young Peter Louis and Helen Mary got married on 10th April 1971, so on Sunday they celebrated their Ruby Wedding Anniversary.

A bittersweet day and it was apt that I used Basic Grey Bittersweet papers to make the card my Dad asked me to make for Mum.

The ‘rough’ stitching was planned and looks better irl, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Dad struggled with the writing and I was shocked at the spelling mistakes. Not like him at all.

Mum made a chocolate fudge cake and I made a topper to match. It was absolutely heavenly.

 

It was a lovely day and not too many tears until everyone went home.

Is it ok to inject some humour into a difficult time? You decide….I bought a card for the kiddlies to give them and I wasn’t paying attention to the sentiment. When I got home I realised it said ‘to many more happy years’. Hmmmm it is now an altered card.

We aren’t overly demonstrative or sentimental in our family and this quote may have seemed a bit daft to us in previous, ‘normal’ years. In fact he would have faced some ribbing for this but we thought it was about right for this one.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight for the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday’s most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right: I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!

I can’t believe…

……that I have finished a layout this evening! It usually takes me so long, it is rare for them to be that quick!
This one is for the weekly challenge on UKS. The challenge was to use blue for 5 points,  using a summer related photo would get you 10 points with a further 15 points for your own journaling and hand-made embellishment.

Paper is by K&Co and the white lace is from my teamie over at UKS; the lovely Janet. The brown fibre was a pressie from the game we played at the retreat which must therefore have been chosen by Susi, Sue or Laura, so thanks whomever it was.

Yes, it would look better if I had clustered the flowers in tighter together around the photo and yes, the glue dried before I realised that was what was wrong. Ho-hum.

Bedtime.

Mum’s birthday card…

 

In 1947 in a village in deepest Devon called Woolfardisworthy (pronounced Woolsery – go figure) this lovely lady was born to May and Alan Dennis, a third daughter Helen Mary.

and of course she is my mum.

Here is the card that I have made for her for her birthday on wednesday. In light of what is happening with Dad she doesn’t want to celebrate particularly so it’s a fairly straightforward one.

The background paper was made in Susi’s fab caught in crystal class that she did for us at the retreat and I was so pleased with it thanks Susi

I then used the resist technique on the topper with clear heat embossing and distress inks. I used a stamp that I had as a freebie from this months papercraft inspirations mag. I love the cute butterfly. The sentiment stamp is one from PaperArtsy and the flower is Papermania with a Prima pebble.

I enjoyed it, although the elements weren’t all made together and actually I think I liked it better for being quick to put together.