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.

Storytelling Sunday: Pick Your Precious|Cinderella

One of my favourite things to post each month is Storytelling Sunday, hosted by Sian at From High In The Sky.

We tell stories and this year we are telling them about belongings we consider precious.

Cinderella.

A second month with something made by my Granny and this time my beloved Cinderella doll which I remember having from a little girl although none of us can remember from exactly when.

Poor Cinders, she looks so sad with that tear on her cheek. I remember when playing with her that I couldn't wait to get to change her into happy Cinders because she looked so sad it broke my heart.

And she was so easy to change into happy Cinders because she is a topsy-turvy doll, you flip the skirt the other way and ...

There, all sparkly eyes and pretty dress.

Her original necklace and her plait have gone unfortunately and her lace is adrift but I think I will be leaving her as she is.

If you would like to have a look at more topsy-turvy dolls there are some here on pinterest.

Papers are from Dear Lizzy.

Thanks for coming to see me.

Storytelling Sunday: Pick Your Precious|Tree Of Life

First Sunday in the month? It is time for Storytelling Sunday hosted by Sian over at High In The Sky. Everyone is welcome with short or long stories, photos, layouts or simply words. Always such good stories and blogs to find and spend time reading. Sian has suggested that we pick our precious things to tell stories about this year which is a wonderful idea and I am enjoying having the layouts in my album.

My Granny again this month, last month I shared her crochet hooks that I have and the crochet I managed. I have been practicing and dreaming of the lovely things I will hopefully be able to make. I am currently having a ham-fisted attempt at a daffodil for an easter wreath from a lovely tutorial from Lucy at Attic 24.

So this month I wanted to show you the embroidery she made me for my thirteenth birthday. I remember going to Okehampton to see her on my birthday and standing in her room as she gave it to me, it was wrapped in brown paper and I was so excited. I just loved it then and I just love it now. The only place I have slept for any length of time without it was when I was at sea.

I always see something different even though I think I know it off by heart. I do always remember the owl and the blue birds.

 I am away on our annual scrapbooking retreat and I remembered to bring the photos and had a lovely afternoon catching up on all the news and scrapping them. 

I especially enjoyed tucking into the new (to me) paper lines from Dear Lizzy, Amy Tangerine and Maggie Holmes :D

And the lovely Karen is cooking Roast Sunday Lunch, insists she doesn't want any help so I might just go and have a read of some stories :)
Happy Storytelling Sunday everyone.

Storytelling Sunday - October

Sian is hosting Storytelling Sunday over at her blog From High In The Sky. There are always so many lovely stories over there to read.

Yesterday was so beautiful that Alex suggested a trip to Woolacombe Beach. It took me about 2 seconds to agree. No other member of the family could be persuaded of this and so we set off on our own.

We had a fab afternoon. Digging battlements each and having a war. For the record Snakey Seaweed Castle fell to Feather Kingdom ( I wasn't allowed to name either, and really, he had it covered there).
He was thrilled with finally being able to make proper sandcastles by himself, seems 8 is the perfect age for patience, listening to your mother, co-ordination and strength for the big buckets to be flipped into the perfect shape successfully.

So the story today was sparked by watching this video when we got home of one of his trips to get water for his moat.

'I will fill my moat' from Jennie Hart on Vimeo.

Since he was a toddler he has tried to fill his variety of moats. With his hands as a little toddler and as an older toddler it made me smile to watch him struggle with the bucket with water in and by the time he waddled to his moat, there was very little in that bucket. 

As a small boy, he used a variety of buckets and on one notable occasion he used some nappy sacks that we had in our pockets for the dogs, ahem. That was make-shift as I forgot the buckets and spades. What a superhero Mother I was not that day, especially as it was spring and the shop wasn't open to get any! I could not believe how long he wanted to carry water in a nappy sack up and down from the river into the moat. 

I guess it is one of those things, you know it won't work, everyone tells you it won't work, empirical evidence collated by yourself tells you it isn't working, you even describe it as "I know it will fade away", but you need to just do it.

There he is, just 8 and still trying to fill his moat. I love the optimism.

I made this for a scraplift challenge we are having in our social group The Bijoux Belles on UKS. You can see the challenge here on Sue's blog.

I've also used up some of the lovely buttons that my other teamie Susi makes and you can take a peek at her Etsy Shop here.

Have a lovely Sunday. Coffee is brewed, bread is toasted, i'm off to read the stories that are up so far.

Storytelling Sunday - September

Sian hosts Storytelling Sunday here. She is the perfect hostess, welcoming and attentive, so you can join in. There are lots of great stories being told every month so pop on over. With a cup of something.

Well this photo of me was taken just last year…oh, no, it wasn't, was it the year before? Well maybe not, but certainly it feels like recently.
That is Jo there, up at the top right playing with her ponytail……Jo, she has beautiful auburn hair, a lovely diffident smile and I see her around quite often and she doesn't look a day older.
Tracey is gurning, her with the froth of gorgeous blond curls…..which of course she detested as our hair had to be straight and we didn't have straighteners. Of course it is beautiful hair and she still has it like that now. I don't think this whole post is going to be about hair. I don't think. Oh man, she could play a mean Wing Attack to my Centre at netball.
Rob looks just like he always did, he couldn't wait to be out of school, his family farmed on the edge of Exmoor and he loved it and therefore begrudged school, especially in the summer.
Clare now chooses to spend her days teaching in Ilfracombe, though she teaches the littlies at the Infants. Now Ali has left I shall miss seeing her regularly. Her daughter is the image of her actually looking at this, especially now that she is only a little younger than Clare was here. We were 16. 16. 16! Clare is and was very, very sweet.
Now then, Chris, the copper topped one, he was a boyfriend. But not yet. Not for another 18 months or so. Fun and sweet. He is in Australia now, but due to the boyfriend situation I still see his family now and then, I adore them and find out his news.
Jonny with his back to us, one of my very best friends, he lived around the corner and we used to walk to school together and hang out and do lots together, always as friends though. He lives a couple of streets away now, married one of our other friends and is bringing up his family.
Not sure who that is bending down? Sorry, school-friend.
Cath, Cathy, Jenks. She had the misfortune (as she saw it) to be the daughter of our year head. Her Mum was F.A.B. and we had a great year group so it could have been worse for her. Another friend not pictured was the Head's daughter as well. She was our year head for all 5 years, which was great, our teachers all knew us so well. She was our Goal Shoot, she had an excellent laugh, she was tall, she had a lust for life. I saw her recently, she had been mainly surfing in South Africa but met a fellow surfer and came back to Woolacombe (our local surf village, where she grew up) and is having babies.
Me? I can remember my shirt, the feel of it, the way it had to be so big to make sure the correct amount of shirt could be 'bagged' out over the trousers (see Jo, she had it nailed :D). Prefect badge for being Head of House-Sport. Proud to get it, we were a bit conscious of it not being too cool but we did have a great year group with little negativity or bullying so it was a good thing to wear. Cath had one for being Head of Sport for one of the, ahem, lesser houses :D Tracey had one for being, I cannot remember what!  I felt just how I look, happy and content.
The photo was taken towards the end of the Summer Term before we left……I was very lucky, my school days were full of fun and enjoyment and I was sad to see them end. Although, of course, I was over-excited for the next bit. Sixth Form, cars, less structure, a step nearer adulthood. Oh and a step nearer that boyfriend.


I include QR codes quite often in my project life from a genius idea from a fellow project lifer, I talk about it here. I thought that rather than write this post out again, I would add a code to the layout to bring me here. The kids love this feature of my scrapping so I love to include it to keep them interested.
Finally, I used a sketch made by Sue, who is excellent at this, here it is. The original layout she lifted it from was by Laura and is beautiful, of course it helps that her beautiful baby son is in it.

The day I went to the Opening Ceremony.

Storytelling Sunday: Summer Lovin’ – August. Have you heard of it? I’m sure you have…in case you haven’t then go over to From High On The Sky where Sian blogs and hosts a monthly Storytelling Time.
Summer Lovin’?

So easy for me, this summer has been full of things I have loved. Not a personal love but love of big events, in this patriotic year. I was so looking forward to 2012. In fact so much that in September 2010 I applied to be a ‘Games Maker’ one of the volunteers for London 2012. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting. I don’t know quite what I did or didn’t do at the interview (I had worked all night before the interview so maybe I was dull) They asked me if I would like to be a Team Leader as well so I was convinced that I was in with a chance of at least a day litter picking.  Anyway I waited and waited some more, My boss and his boss authorised me to have the time off (not really convenient either as it is our busiest time) and I rang and rang the Games Maker team and they said yes we are still hoping to place you, you are successful in passing….anyway at the end of June they sent me an email to say that I hadn’t been successful at that point although they may still need me but to console me they were giving me a ticket to the first dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony. OK then, well that was totally worth the stress and worry, now I don’t have to work, spend money I don’t really have and earn less as I am not at work and I get to go to see the stadium.

In my naiveté I thought that I would go into the Olympic park, then go into the stadium and watch them move stuff around into place. It was labelled as the ‘technical rehearsal’. How dumb am I?
So I went to stay at my good friend Susi’s house (which was so fab and a minibreak in itself, thanks Susi ) and then took the train into Euston from there. From Euston, well I’m pretty sure I would invite ridicule from Londoner’s if I told you my whole tale but suffice to say I think I did one part twice, due to being unsure if I was right Anyway I was only 10 minutes adrift of the time I was due so it couldn’t have been too bad from a gal from the sticks that generally just drives from A to B. Actually in all seriousness, that underground is genius and I love travelling it. Just once a year though
From Stratford station there were Games Makers all the way marshalling us and cheering us, welcoming us…and they were all laughing with us at the fact that the pink stripping at the top of the tunnels that had arrows pointing us in the right direction were pointing the wrong way
We emerged into the bright sunlight and again were marshalled so well into the Olympic Park, the soldiers were so polite and friendly getting us through security, and we were in.


I was here….here I was….Usually my hair is full of bounce and verve ;) I think it was overawed and needed to lay down behind my ears here.

Bridge A, my way in. Not at all excited at this point

I hadn’t listened to anything or searched for anything on twitter so I was ‘green’ but by the time I got to the stadium it was clear that I was going to see a version of the ceremony.
To see the ‘green and pleasant land’ was awe-inspiring. I chuckled when I saw the clouds carried by the ‘mechanics’-dance girls that had a real flair to gee the crowd up. To see the local children doing the maypole (let’s bring that back) was magical.
Also if you see on the big screen it says #savethesurprise Danny Boyle came out at this point, thanked us all for applying and getting involved and asked us to save the surprise and you know, most people did. I know I did, although I was itching, itching I say.
All of a sudden a child was singing Jerusalem and although I would have been surprised and saddened if it wasn’t in there, I was amazed at my reaction to it. I love it and am always moved by it, but this just made me cry.
Then when the drummers started (and this wasn’t clear on the telly), I mean they started out of nowhere just behind our heads and travelled down between us, there was a few to start and it just grew until there were a thousand of them and they kept the same amazing beat with Evelyn Glennie going great guns a few metres from us. Sublime. Awesome. Unexpected. Effective.
My heart was going with the drums as was the intention.
Just as we wondered why, up came the chimneys.

Then watching the team take off the green and pleasant land in pieces in order and in dance time, then ‘forge’ that ring and seeing all the other rings swing into the stadium. Well my heart was in my mouth.

Seeing Sir Kenneth Branagh speak was the topping. I so enjoyed the rest but that whole first half hour just stirred me, especially as it segued into the London Symphony Orchestra (about 20 metres from me) playing Chariots of Fire. I was done. I couldn’t even take many more photos. I just sat there in awe.
Summer Lovin’ indeed. I hope you enjoyed it too, everyone I have spoken to has been thrilled.
If you read all the way through, thank you Enjoy the rest of the Olympics.

Storytelling Sunday–Midsummer

I'm joining in with Storytelling Sunday, will you? It's just such a lovely event to join in with.
It was such a perfect summer’s day on midsummer 2010. I had a meeting near London and the 7 hours round trip in a car with no air conditioning had left me all stuffy. Even though it was a school night, I grabbed the kids and Mum when I got home and we tore down to Coombesgate beach for an hour.

This photo doesn’t reflect it but the beach was quite busy with lots of families doing the same, just enjoying the balmy evening and watching the sunset on midsummer.

The light was perfect and the boys couldn’t resist getting in the pools….


…or running and jumping.


It was just lovely and peaceful and warm.

I thought of this story as I scrapped this photo yesterday for a challenge for America’s National Scrapbooking Day. That was a nice way to spend an hour or two. I am already beginning to hope that it will be similar this midsummer.
So I am adding it to another tradition that is Storytelling Sunday, hosted by Sian at From High In The Sky.