Dark Skies

Exmoor is about 15 minutes drive away from me, we go up there probably 2 or 3 times a year; often looking for snow. Well, I was surprised when Mum asked if I would drive her up there to go and see it in the dark as her birthday treat, however, the more she told me about it the more it made sense. Exmoor has been designated the first International Dark Sky Reserve in Europe. They have worked hard for it as well. And well what else would I want to do on a saturday night in early april but drive around Exmoor in the dark?

As usual when I don't have a proper plan I managed to drive the wrong way and ended up about 20 minutes away from where I had been aiming to get to. Anyhoo when we got to the top of the moor it was quite dark.

And very spooky, now I would say I am quite a brave person but not on the top of Exmoor under those dark skies. I mean there must have been murderers up there just waiting for two women to mysteriously stop in the middle of nowhere, mustn't there?

But the starlight, oh my. I was fairly skeptical that it wouldn't be particularly noticeable-y different...I was happy to be oh so wrong. It was spectacular, just a dome of fairy lights. I really thought I would need a telescope, now, I really want one. My iPhone app Night Sky really came into it's own as I only know the basic constellations. 

So I have now added a starlight midnight feast to our to do list for the summer. I love photography and I have always wanted to try for a star trail photo like this one by Nagesh Mahadev that you can see on my pinterest photo love board. So we could combine that together and hopefully the kids will love it.

I do know really that there are no Exmoor murderers really, but the Exmoor Beast? Well, we will definitely be on the lookout for it.

Hello baby boy.

This layout was for the UKS challenge last week. To use a photo of an event either from now or during May in 'history'. To use an irregular sized photo and to use two embellies beginning with B.

I used this photo of my brother Rich being brought from Okehampton on Dartmoor where he was born, to our paternal grandparents Granny & Granddad Edwards in Ilfracombe for his first visit, on our way to Lundy (Island, where we lived). Granny Dennis took the photo as she was helping Mum get back to the island with us both. 

They were both already into their 70's by then as Dad was adopted by Granny when she went with her daughter to adopt her daughter. If that makes any sense? There was a generation gap, if that helps!

Granddad was 78 here and died the year after so this is only one photo I can find with us in with him. So well done Granny D for getting the shot as Rich is clearly screaming and it would have been easy to abandon the idea!

So, a big event, I trimmed the photo square and added 3 sequins for the bling.

Thanks for coming by =)

6 Days and counting...

The monthly challenge over at UKS has a great sketch to follow.

I used it for one of the 12x12 layouts in project life this month. It has been manic at work for the first 13 weeks of the financial year; we have had an extra job to do and that has been emotional, hard and boring all at the same time. Now that the project has just about come to an end we are all relishing a bit of an easier work day. On top of that we are still decorating and sorting the house out at home and it has been a big adjustment going back to work full-time after my lovely few months away from it. I decided that Sunday was going to be a scrapbook day and catch up on project life, well, in between playing moshi monsters.
It was lovely to catch it up and because of the way I am approaching it this year it feels less daunting when I do slip 'behind'.

 A couple of weeks ago I completed my first 10k run for a long time. I hadn't trained as much as I would have liked and I knew the course had a hill so I wanted to be in as good a place as I could be so I had a super healthy week. 

Porridge, Salad, walking, running and swimming.
It was a good week and the run was better for it, at the very least in my mind!

 Love the Maggie Holmes paper from Crate, I die-cut the circles and mounted paper behind them and then embossed off-set circles with turquoise zing powder. 
The run was enjoyable, apart from climbing up to the cliff path!! I only managed to run up a third and then I thought I might explode.
I took this snap as I went along the cliff path of the coast and woolacombe beach that I had just run along and would have to do again :D

I am training now for Race For Life which is half the distance and so I am training to try and do it faster than I normally do. Which is slow. So slow. At this point on the run I was at about 4km and I could see the winners finishing, ahem. :)

Beat The Christmas Rush - May

My friend Sue is hosting a challenge to get the christmas cards made on time. You can see hers here.

I am thrilled that I have such a pile of cards.

This month I was inspired by It's A Creative World and the never ending card they made.

It was surprisingly easy to make and it was also surprising that my youngest son was completely freaked out by it and wouldn't touch it :D

I think they would be awesome as a child's birthday card, but clearly not Ali's!

That cute robin button was one of a set given to me by Sue and she got them from my other friend Susi's Etsy Shop, if you like buttons then you will like her shop :)

You can browse here.

A very short video to show you how it looks if you haven't seen them before.

Never ending card from Jennie Hart on Vimeo.

Two more work days round here and then I am on hols. I am trying not to fret about the fact that the only two nice days foreast are these two days that I am working :) 

I hope you have some time out to enjoy the nice days, if indeed the weather is nice around your way.

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend!

Make Today...

A couple of weeks ago, Ali and I headed out to the beach after work on a saturday night as it was the first warm day of the year.

We weren't the only ones with the same idea of course.

I used the weekly challenge over at UKS to get them scrapped. 

Misting over the lovely chevron paper and then some more pp from the same range Simple Stories 24/Seven, with about a million stickers from the collection, most unlike me. I have been inspired by my friend Karen's work which you can see in her gallery here. She is the queen of misting and detail :) I especially like this one.

Right, I need to go and make (the rest of) today ridiculously amazing ;)

Storytelling Sunday: Pick Your Precious|Atlas

It is the first sunday in May which is always a lovely, hopeful time of year. As it is the first sunday of the month it is time for Storytelling Sunday hosted by Sian and this month she has a lovely story about her girl guide shirt which you can read here.

I had planned to show you my childhood toy clock this month but after a couple of de-junk days unearthing 'stuff' from the shed and the cupboard under the stairs, I found 'the' atlas which I believed lost.

I was so happy and moved to see it, it is The Reader's Digest version published in 1975 which makes it a few months younger than me and the years are, erm how shall I put it, beginning to show on us both? :)

The main reason I have such fond memories of it is that it was my Dad and my favourite book to look at together.

As the journaling on my layout reads:

"Have I told you about sailing around the world twice?" He would bellow with a smile.

We would get the atlas down with me rolling my eyes and teasing him and secretly happy to spend time with him, even if I had heard it all before...

His favourite trip was Italy to Buenos Aires on the Mendoza Star bringing their beef to the european markets.

Rio de Janeiro was his favourite place in the whole world after Lundy & North Devon.

I just love the type, those lovely curly letters.

Anyway, we would spend hours looking at the maps together.

I also loved it as I spent a lot of time looking at it by myself, I learned the order of the solar system.

(only one page here, I do know there are other planets :))

I learned the capital cities of all of Europes Countries and a good many others around the world. I remember getting Mum and Dad to test me on them and them roaring with laughter when I pronounced Algeria with a hard 'g'. I am still teased about that now, in fact I was just this morning when I told Mum what I was blogging about this month!

I have made a photo-less page, as I have no ink and it was too late to order some prints. I used some gorgeousness from Crate Paper, 'DIY Shop' as I love the map print and that would represent it well. I wanted a sketch or some ideas for a photo-less page and who better than Sian who often makes such layouts.

So Sian, I hope you don't mind me scraplifting this layout. 

which you can read about here.

So here is my version;

Ok time for brunch and a read of the other fabulous stories, then I am back to the actual DIY rather than the pretty paper type I used today. 

Drilling holes and building furniture type DIY. Well it is a bank holiday weekend :)

I hope you all enjoy yourself.

Scrapmap & UKS Challenges

Hello & Happy Scrapbooking Day. May your mojo be strong :)

My scrapmap layout this month also fits the criteria for the UKS weekly challenge.

The scrapmap looks like this.

Fab sketch Sue :)

and the UKS weekly challenge criteria is to scrap someone you are proud of, use yellow and butterflies.

Please pop over to have a look at the challenges, you can find the scrapmap at Creative Craft World where you can also grab yourself a bargain box in the shop.