I Speak Melsh

I'm OK - thank you! :)

2012-01-13T09:10:00.000Z

Dear friends,

This is just a quick note to let you know that I'm fine, and I'm so sorry if I've worried you! :) A combination of reasons has kept me from my computer, but nothing major, nothing to concern you. One of them is simply that my eyes have been very sore and tired lately so I've been trying to avoid screens altogether; even this short post is being written bit by bit so that I'm not staring at a screen for too long.

I do apologise for not having replied personally to your emails and messages, but I just haven't been up to turning on the computer at all - I really appreciate your concern, your messages have meant a lot to me, and I am sorry if I've worried you. Please be assured that we are all fine, and I hope to get back into a blogging pattern soon, when my eyes are up to it!

Meanwhile, I do hope you're all well and enjoying 2012 :) Gosh, I miss reading your news and seeing your projects! I am looking forward to getting back to it, and hope it won't be long now.

Thanks again to everyone who's contacted me or thought of me xx

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2012-01-01T12:33:00.010Z

22nd December: Rather later than usual this year, we had our staff Christmas social! It was held in a marquee at a local hotel - the decoration was beautiful, I loved the lights in the ceiling of the marquee :) We had a delicious meal (I had a smoked duck salad followed by a roast beef meal from the carvery - no dessert as both choices contained nuts, but actually I was too full for dessert anyway!) After the meal we were 'entertained' by a Take That tribute act. I'm not a big Take That fan but it was good fun, and I knew lots of the songs (by osmosis, I guess!) So it was a good evening :)

Detail: domain

355 of 365

2011-12-31T06:51:00.013Z

21st December: I braved Asda for the final food shop before the big day! It actually wasn't too bad; lots of people had gone first thing in the morning and as I was slightly later, although it was very busy when I arrived, by the time I'd worked round the store lots of people had left so I didn't have to queue for long. And I didn't have to take The Children, because The Boy is old enough and responsible enough to be left alone for a while now (and The Doctor was working at home anyway), and The Mother kindly offered to have The Tomboy for the morning. And I got everything on my list bar one item, which I managed to find a suitable replacement for. Result! :)

Detail: open

Looking back....

2011-12-30T12:38:00.063Z

So 2011 is nearly over! Where did it go?!

It seems the ideal opportunity to reflect on some of the details of this year. Hooray for blogging and Project 365, as I've documented this year pretty thoroughly! :)

It's been a year of travel: I've been to Leeds, somewhere else, Rome, Newport Pagnell, Stevenage, Constant (France), Liverpool, Reading, Los Angeles, Coalport - and The Doctor managed Paris, too!

It's been a year of meeting with many friends :) I've managed to meet up with so many of you, my blog friends: Sian, Clair, Ruth, Leandra, Lin, Tim(!), Lou, Joanne, Jo, Monica, Linda, Deb, Carrie, Cheryl, Lizzie, Jo, Jemma, Ruth, K, Lesley, Julie and Alexa - more than ever, the 'blog' part of 'blog friend' feels redundant! And I've managed to Skype with several of you even if I didn't manage to meet you in person this year :)

It's been a year of classes, mainly (but not exclusively) online: I've been inspired by Shimelle, by Kirsty Wiseman, by Ali Edwards, by Tim Holtz..... and I've taken part in various online projects, too, such as a Pay It Forward and Pass The Book - not to mention the many giveaways I've entered and those I've held myself!

It's been a year of art journaling: I tried to journal my One Little Word ('details') each month, but didn't manage to sustain that throughout the year. (I did manage to note lots of details, though, photographically, here on the blog, and in scrapbook layouts.) Taking up the 52 Lists in 52 Weeks project has also been an art journal opportunity for me. And I've had fun with Ginger's Mail Art Exchange!

It's been a year of reading through my Bible: I've been working through the E100 readings, and have just one more to go, which I shall complete today :)

It's been a year of babies: We've welcomed two very-much-wanted babies of good friends of ours, and while neither situation was straightforward both families are doing very well now :)

It's been a year of growing up and moving on for The Boy: He left his primary school and started at secondary. It was the secondary school he most wanted, and he's settled in happily :) He also moved on from Scouts and started attending a new group together with many of his friends from primary (it's lovely that he can still see them regularly).

It's been a good year for The Doctor: He's been on sabbatical from teaching so he could get stuck into the research for his new book. He managed to pack in a fair bit of work-related travel, too. Plus I've been trying out lots of new recipes, which he's thoroughly enjoyed testing for me!!

It's been a good year all round, really :) Thank you, 2011, we've enjoyed you! I hope it was good to you, too xx

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2011-12-30T06:53:00.013Z

20th December: A local pub had invited my church to send along some carol singers; about 15 of us turned up and sang some favourites in harmony (Silent Night, Come All Ye Faithful, Hark The Herald etc) and a soloist performed O Holy Night. It was difficult to get a representative photo because of course I was performing, but we were placed in front of this lovely but very hot fire so my main memory of the evening is of fanning myself with my music and shuffling for a position slightly further from the flames!!

Detail: wrap

Kirsty class 4

2011-12-29T12:29:00.007Z

(Continued from yesterday!)

...torn tags, crumply foil, a different kind of embossing...

...painty cling film, floaty beads...

Oh yes, many different ways to create texture :) I had so much fun experimenting with the techniques, and will definitely be using at least some of them again!

Meanwhile, rather than journal in the suggested way, I just thought about some of the things that make me happy and added little sketches to the inked cardstock tags.

The pages were paired up to create pockets, the tags tucked inside, and the journal was complete (in a satisyingly bulgy kind of way!)

Kirsty promptly ran another class, which I would have loved to have taken part in, but alas - it was too soon :( And while the class itself is still available, the kit is not, and receiving the kit was part of the fun - however easy it might be to put my own equivalent together! I'm still thinking about this as a possibility for next year, though. The classes are technique-rich, encourage experimentation and are a lot of fun!

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2011-12-29T06:57:00.008Z

19th December: It was the first 'proper' day of The Children's school holidays (we don't count the weekend as they'd be off school then anyway!) In the morning we went to the nearest town so they could do a bit of Christmas shopping of their own, we had lunch out, and then in the afternoon we watched The Voyage of the Dawn Treader together. (I found it a bit disappointing to be honest - as I've said before, I like a film of a book to BE the book, with a few adjustments made to tell the story well on screen. I don't like it when big changes are made or new plot strands are added in. I immediately began re-reading the Narnia series to remind myself of how it should have gone...)

Detail: shopping

Kirsty class 3

2011-12-28T12:27:00.000Z

(Continued from yesterday!)

...playful bubble wrap, subtle gesso, clever glue stick resist and touchy feely felt...

...rough sandpaper and smooth glassine, mock hessian...

(To be continued!)

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2011-12-28T06:55:00.012Z

18th December: A big day for us as a family in the life of the church! We lit the candles of the Advent wreath and did the associated readings during the morning service, and in the evening it was our big carol service at which The Boy read and I sang in the choir :)

Detail: choir*

* I think I got a bit carried away with the blurring out of faces, but I wanted to be able to share this photo and some of the people were near enough to the camera to be identifiable - admittedly, perhaps not by the back of their heads, but still, better safe than sorry....!

Kirsty class 2

2011-12-27T12:27:00.009Z

(Continued from yesterday)

...flippy doilies, bumpy cardboard, rolled paper...

...stamped-into gesso, layered tickets...

(To be continued!)

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2011-12-27T06:54:00.012Z

17th December: We finally put our tree up :) As usual, it looks like someone tripped over while carrying the box of decorations and they just landed any old how - but that is how I like it! (It happens that way because the decs include many items hand-made by The Children, or collected from somewhere in particular at a particular Christmas; that means each decoration comes with its own memory and that's special :) Plus, of course, The Children help to decorate the tree so it's bound to look - um - interesting?!)

Detail: pantomime*

Imagine photo here!

* The pic shows a poster advertising the panto and it includes the location and other identifying information :) But it was Aladdin, and The Tomboy went with Brownies, and she had a fabulous time until shortly after it finished when she was sick in the venue's toilets... (She was much better by the following day, thank you! xx)

Kirsty class 1

2011-12-26T12:18:00.003Z

I really enjoyed the Kirsty Wiseman online class I did in June, so I signed up with enthusiasm when she announced a second class :) (It followed the first quite quickly, but as I won back my payment for that first class - yay!! - I could totally justify doing the second so soon, result!)

This one was called 'Feel' (though as you can see, I turned mine into 'Feel Happy'). The online video went live at the end of July so I decided to take the necessary supplies and work on it during my time in America - I knew I'd need something creative to do out there, so this and my travel journal did the trick :) In the end, we packed in so many trips and so much exploration that it took me the whole month to complete my project!!

NB: At the time of writing, both these classes are available at a discount here. I'm not sure when this offer ends though. I *think* it still includes the kit but I'm not sure of that, either!

Back to my project:

I love all the texture we brought into it - painty bumps, Braille, flaps to lift...

...wiggly string, textured and painted gesso...

...and yes, of course there's more! But I'm spreading this project over a few different posts so you'll have to wait for the rest of the pages ;)

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2011-12-26T06:55:00.007Z

16th December: Last year we had snow on the last day of term; we did again this year! But this time it fell during the day, it wasn't so heavy, and it fizzled out into sleet and rain (and hail) before disappearing altogether...

Detail: service

349 of 365

2011-12-25T12:27:00.004Z

15th December: The Children had their Reading Group Christmas party at the library, and came home clutching a few new books as gifts as well as a couple they wanted to borrow!

Detail: gifts

Wishing you a bloggy Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:57:00.014Z

To all my blog readers - I made this card just for you :)

And then I stumbled across this video, which I had to share! :)

<p><p>http://www.youtube.com/embed/pW1pbuyGlQ0?rel=0</a>" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></p></p>
(NB: If the video isn't working I'll be back later to update the link!)
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, with love from me, The Doctor, The Boy and The Tomboy xx

Current favourites

2011-12-24T12:29:00.003Z

Thought I'd better share this list while it was still current....!!

This post was brought to you by 52 Lists in 52 Weeks

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2011-12-24T06:54:00.003Z

14th December: The day of the Christmas parties! It was our bring and share lunch at school, and our exchange of Secret Santa gifts. That evening it was our bring and share House Group Christmas social, and our 'lucky dip' £1 Secret Santa gifts. Lots of fun :)

Detail: secret

Mail art

2011-12-23T14:07:00.001Z

In the interests of tying up a few loose ends before 2012, over the next few days I'll be sharing some projects from this year that didn't yet make it onto the blog :)

Here's some Mail Art I sent as part of Ginger's Mail Art Exchange:

I made the notebook from various 'scrap' pieces of paper and card

Made good use of my new stamps and punch from Michael's!

I began with an ordinary sheet of brown paper, and covered it with paint, scraps from an old atlas, and stamped 'travel' images

I like the way bits of brown still peek through!

I added some white paint to give me a clearer background for writing the address, then sent it on its way to Lisa :)

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2011-12-23T06:56:00.013Z

13th December: A day of baking! I made 6 dozen mince pies - 2 dozen with sponge topping and 4 dozen with pastry stars on top. I also made a large jam tart (The Children don't like mince pies). AND I made some mincemeat loaves - 3 mini ones as teacher gifts and a large one ready for Christmas (I don't like Christmas cake). (Not that we're fussy or anything...)

Detail: broken?*

*Thankfully not, though I had a worrying couple of hours! After playing around with various settings it started working again - thank goodness!

My Domain

2011-12-22T12:14:00.001Z

I've been thinking about it for a while - I finally went ahead and did it :) It's a Christmas present to myself - I'm now on www.ispeakmelsh.co.uk!

It shouldn't make any difference to how you read my blog, as everything just gets redirected, but it's possible that blogrolls won't update properly or that certain links are broken. If you notice anything that doesn't seem quite right, do please let me know!

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2011-12-22T06:54:00.003Z

12th December: I'd had a nasty flare-up of eczema :( I managed to get an emergency appointment with the doctor, and picked up a prescription that has helped enormously :)

Detail: christingle

This and that :)

2011-12-21T15:24:00.000Z

How's it going, friends? Are you all set for Christmas? It's nearly here, you know!! Are you excited yet?! (I am - just a little - does it show?!)

I think we're nearly ready now - just waiting for one last online order to arrive so I can wrap it. I did the final food shop this morning; all the wrapping is now done (except for that one last item I'm waiting for); I've been working on my Journal Your Christmas (not entirely successfully - I'll blog about that another time) and my December Daily (more successfully - I'll blog about that another time); I've made many a list and managed to check off most of the items... All is calm, all is bright!

I've also just signed up for a brand new class which starts in January. Have you heard of it? It's called Just One Sketch, it costs a bargain £5, and better yet the proceeds go to support GirlGuiding UK. Go check it out, I'd love to see you in class :)

And the teacher of this class just happens to be my blog friend Kirsty, and here's a photo I promised to share with her - the new keyring I picked up while Christmas shopping a couple of weeks ago:

Hope you like it, Kirsty :)

And I hope you all enjoy the last few days before the big day arrives! Hope all your last-minute jobs go well and you get some down-time too :) Speak soon xx

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2011-12-21T06:50:00.008Z

11th December: We arrived at church to the distressing news that thieves had taken lead from part of the roof, damaging tiles and stonework in the process. This was on a morning when it poured with rain, so the roof was leaking badly, too. Very sad :(

Detail: party*

Imagine photo here!

* It was the Sunday Club Christmas party, and the photo shows the children enjoying some of the activities

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2011-12-20T07:02:00.006Z

10th December: The postman brought me a special package, all the way from Australia :) I carefully put it away till Christmas, because I'm good like that! (But oh, I'm so looking forward to opening it then!!)

Detail: sleepover

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2011-12-19T06:58:00.010Z

9th December: The last Connect group of this term. We looked at crafts you can do with your children: sock puppets, decorated baubles, assembling your own crackers, paper angels, colouring bookmarks, and my personal favourite - creating a reindeer with a footprint and two handprints :)

Detail: thanks

Catching up with my lists

2011-12-18T14:29:00.000Z

Oops - I seem to have fallen several weeks behind with sharing my weekly lists!! Here's a quick round up of weeks 22-28:

Things I love about autumn

I believe...

5 Things

Things that keep me awake at night

I am thankful for...

December 'To Do' List

My dream gift list

This post was brought to you by 52 Lists in 52 Weeks

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2011-12-18T06:55:00.007Z

Imagine photo here!

8th December: I watched the Key Stage 1 Nativity - and it was lovely :) The photo shows the children on stage, so I can't share it here, sorry...

Detail: cards

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2011-12-17T06:53:00.003Z

7th December: The Mother and I took a day trip to a nearby city to do some Christmas shopping and try to find some decorations for me to photograph - I was a bit disappointed in the decorations in general, but this giant 'paper chain' was quite effective.

Detail: twelve

Calendars - a freebie

2011-12-16T11:06:00.000Z

Hello, everyone :) Thanks for your kind comments about the calendars I made with my papercrafts class!

I created and printed the month pages myself; I've put them onto 4Shared so if anyone would like them, here are the links you'll need :)

I initially created each page to be A5, but then realised I didn't have enough cardstock to print them that size! That file is here though.

I then rejigged them a bit to fit 3 months onto a sheet of A4; that file is here (I seem to recall that it has a blank page at the end that I couldn't get rid of, just ignore that!) You need to trim it down to just under 10cm (9.9cm-ish) after printing. The example above is at that size.

And there's a single A4 page with 3 copies of the front cover (which just simply says '2012' on it). If you'd like that too it's here but it would be easy enough to create a cover at the right size if you want one, or not to bother at all as you'll only have the months on display, after all!

We punched holes at the top for hanging. You can punch a single hole and pop them straight onto a hook or nail, or you can punch two holes and thread ribbon through to make a hanging loop. Alternatively, if the cardstock is sturdy enough you can put the pages onto book rings and stand the whole thing up on a shelf or desk.

I hope you find it useful, and have some fun decorating them with stamps or photos or paper scraps :) If you do I'd love to see the result, so please do let me know.

Oh, and any problems with the links please tell me in a comment and I'll see what I can do about it! :)

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2011-12-16T06:58:00.009Z

6th December: My last papercrafts class of term. We made calendars, using some simple pages with each month at the bottom that I created and printed, then decorating them with punched and die-cut shapes.

Detail: model

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2011-12-15T06:54:00.012Z

5th December: I wrote the Christmas cards that needed to be sent overseas, as my only realistic chance of getting to the Post Office that week was the following day!

Detail: hail

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2011-12-14T06:52:00.002Z

4th December: The Toy Service at church, where we all bring in donations of toys to be distributed to children who may not receive (m)any gifts otherwise this year.

Detail: baked

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2011-12-13T06:52:00.009Z

3rd December: I made a large batch of Christmas cards in front of the TV that evening, mainly making use of lovely printables from SJ and Ali Edwards :) Edited to say: SJ's printables are here and here, and Ali's Holiday Word Art is available here

Detail: mincemeat

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2011-12-12T06:50:00.003Z

2nd December: It was our school Christmas Fair, and I helped set up - including helping Father Christmas get suited and booted ready to settle into his Grotto for the duration! :)

Detail: win

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2011-12-11T06:57:00.006Z

1st December: The Doctor's birthday :) We went out for a family meal in the evening, and The Tomboy took this photo of us.

Detail: bike

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2011-12-10T06:55:00.011Z

30th November: OW OW OW omigosh OW!! I trapped my little finger between the shopping trolley and the checkout at Asda :( I cannot BELIEVE how much it hurt!! I actually cried a little! And it hurt right through the rest of the day :( I found it no consolation at all that the bruise was shaped like a heart, particularly as it later spread and didn't look at all like a heart... And worse, my colleagues warned me that I may well lose my nail as the nailbed was so damaged :(

Detail: strike

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2011-12-09T06:51:00.011Z

29th November: I wrapped the first few Christmas presents - the first of many! But these were a priority because they had further to travel than most of my gifts ;)

Detail: herman

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2011-12-08T06:56:00.011Z

28th November: My first job when I get into work in the morning? Make a cup of tea :) And on this particular morning I was able to use my new mug, bought while on the Blogger's Weekend Away. The caption isn't quite right though, as actually I don't love mornings at all AND I wish they started later in the day...

Detail: dice

More birthday greetings

2011-12-07T11:44:00.004Z

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday dear The Boy...

Happy birthday toooooo yoooooou!

12 years old today - how did that happen?!

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2011-12-07T06:59:00.014Z

27th December: I arrived home from the Bloggers' Weekend Away to be met by a very excited The Tomboy who had created a treasure hunt for me :) When I reached the end I found this little message - aww!

Detail: ruffles

Imagine photo here!

(Photo not shared because it shows my dear friend Clair modelling the ruffles 'thing' and I haven't asked her permission to make that pic public!)

So, those calendars...

2011-12-06T21:44:00.000Z

Shall we see if anyone got close with their guesses? ;)

OK, so this is how they go:

The Star Wars Lego calendar is an extra-special, one-off treat for The Boy and The Tomboy to share. (Gosh, I can just imagine the trouble it would cause if one child got a calendar like that and the other didn't!! They happily negotiated opening alternate days and so far it's working well!)

The Doctor Who paper calendar came with The Boy's copy of Doctor Who Adventures. (The Tomboy gets Pokemon World - she didn't get a calendar with that.)

The chocolate Doctor Who calendar is also The Boy's; the chocolate Super Mario one is The Tomboy's (as chosen by The Children themselves).

The chocolate Smurf calendar is The Doctor's (as chosen by The Children themselves....)

However, here's the twist! Last year The Doctor expressed disappointment that I had a Cadbury's calendar and he didn't, so when I got mine and it happened to be on offer I picked up an extra one for him. Mine's the one with Rudolf wrapped in lights and his has the Christmas tree on it. Since he had that one, we gave the Smurfs one to The Children as an extra so the child who doesn't get to open the Lego calendar can have an extra chocolate instead. (But only after he'd unwrapped it as part of his birthday present, as per our tradition for his birthday!)

Phew!

(If anyone had actually guessed that lot they would have earnt a mega prize lol!)

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2011-12-06T06:54:00.006Z

26th November: I received my fabby and amazing PIF gift from K :)

Detail: friends

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2011-12-05T06:55:00.009Z

25th November: The Fabulous One and I travelled down to Coalport for the Bloggers' Weekend Away, yay!! We stopped off for lunch en route and she treated me to a yummy meal of beans and bacon on toast :) The waiter was funny and put up with our teasing very well, and even brought over lollies for us with the bill!

Detail: hostel

It's A Surprise!

2011-12-04T11:17:00.000Z

You think you'll never forget, but all too soon the memories fade and if you're not careful they can disappear altogether! I know we were living in Leeds at the time because I remember the layout of the house. It must have been 1st December 2002, then. The Boy would have been very nearly 3, and The Girl (as she was then), 7 months old, would have been having one of her brief naps! I know it was 1st December because that's The Doctor's birthday. He was busy working upstairs in the corner of the bedroom that served as his study at the time. I asked The Boy to help me to make a special cake - a birthday cake - a surprise for Daddy. He was delighted at the idea, and happily weighed, sifted and stirred with me. And then, before I could stop him, he shouted up the stairs:

Daddy, we're making you a birthday cake. It's a surprise!

This post was brought to you by Sian's Storytelling Sunday :)

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2011-12-04T06:57:00.000Z

24th November: The previous week, The Tomboy had had a homework task based on a newspaper article about a baby hippo that had sadly died. She was utterly distraught by this, poor kiddy! :( On this particular day I was teaching her class and when I went to set up my computer ready I spotted a new piece of work pinned to the display board - a follow-up article about the miraculous recovery of the baby hippo! I'd had no idea she'd done this, I love teaching at her school because I'm forever stumbling across another special piece of work she's done :)

Detail: perform*

* The Boy's first performance at his secondary school! He's part of the Year 7 choir :)

This year's calendars...

2011-12-03T12:03:00.003Z

Well, it has become a bit of a tradition now to ask you to guess which Advent calendar belongs to which of us... But this year it'll be even harder than usual, because we actually have 7 calendars between the four of us.

Yes, this could indeed be considered a bit excessive.

So what do you reckon? We have a Lego Star Wars calendar, two Cadbury's chocolate ones, Super Mario, Doctor Who and Smurfs chocolate ones, and a Doctor Who picture one which came free with Doctor Who Adventures magazine. And we have The Boy, The Tomboy, The Doctor and The Me. Any guesses?!

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2011-12-03T06:52:00.005Z

23rd November: Made the Malteser cake ready for the bloggers' weekend away :)

Detail: study

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2011-12-02T06:58:00.003Z

22nd November: My papercrafts class looked at different ways to incorporate photos into a project.

Detail: snack

Birthday greetings

2011-12-01T11:19:00.009Z

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you!

Happy birthday dear The Doctor....

Happy birthday tooooo yooooou!

Hope you have a wonderful day, my darling xx

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2011-12-01T06:55:00.006Z

21st November: One of my classes had to solve a series of complicated clues during their lesson that day!

Detail: bake

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2011-11-30T06:50:00.004Z

20th November: One or two leaves had fallen from the trees...

Detail: tutorial

Catching up (just a little...)

2011-11-29T11:18:00.000Z

As with most (and quite ~~possibly~~ probably all) of you, this time of year just gets busier than ever. I'm fed up of hearing myself apologise for falling behind with my blog visits, so please just take it as read. I will do my best to get round to see you all and comment when I can, but I can't promise when that will be! It may be that for a while I'll need to scale down my commenting in order to fit in more reading, but I will try to check in with you often enough that you know I am still reading :)

Meanwhile, apart from my Project 365 posts, I shall also be scaling down my own blog posting for a the next few weeks. I have plenty to share about the fabby weekend away, and I shall be working on my Journal Your Christmas as well as some sort of December Daily, but I shall probably aim to do less frequent 'round up' posts with a few days at a time rather than daily individual posts. I'm hoping that will save some time for both me and you! (And I think you deserve a rest after my mammoth posting frenzy with all my Pretty Paper Party layouts!)

People who've signed up for the second phase of the Facebook Project, I'll be in touch with you very soon. All your faces are stamped and ready, but I was planning to go to the Post Office on Wednesday; however, both The Children's schools will be closed due to the strike action and I've also offered to look after my friend's two kids for some of the day so it looks like that one window of opportunity will be closed and I might have to wait till next week :( I'll send an email round letting you know where I'm up to with that.

I did want to share with you some particular photos as soon as possible, though :) One of the (many) highlights of the weekend away was receiving a very special gift from the lovely and very talented K as part of a Pay It Forward. I had no idea what she might make for me but having seen some of her previous projects on her blog I knew I was in for a treat! Do you want to see what I got? :)

Isn't it amazing? A specially altered dictionary, custom-made for me!

I love the finish on it - the texture, the glaze, the patina of age, the little details...

But you know, it's even more special than might appear at first. You see, when you open it up and turn the first few pages, nestling inside in a little secret cubby hole is:

How extra fabulous is that?! I love K!! She rocks! Thank you, my dear :)

(Footnote: I tweeted pics of this last night, and Green & Black's spotted my tweets and retweeted the photo above! So thrilled that K's creation gets the recognition it deserves!)

Right, my friends. Time for me to have an early lunch before heading off to teach my papercrafts class then collecting The Children from school and dropping them off home then going to a (long) school governor meeting before fetching The Tomboy from Brownies then dashing home for a late dinner before heading out again to collect The Boy from Kids' Club and then trying to dash off a few more Santa letters because some came in late on Friday so I couldn't do them over the weekend and then having a much-looked-forward-to Skype with my dear friend Amy... Yes, it's a quiet day today! ;) Speak soon xx

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2011-11-29T06:54:00.010Z

19th November: All the faces had arrived - in an assortment of beautiful envelopes and accompanied by many lovely cards, notes and little extras :)

Detail: sort

Well now, wasn't that a fab weekend :)

2011-11-28T17:18:00.001Z

I look forward to telling you lots more about it, too - I had the most wonderful time with the most wonderful people, it was ace! I achieved quite a lot, I laughed much, I talked a little tiny bit, I saw much amazing craft to inspire me, I ate a little tiny bit of cake, I adopted a Herman, I added some new words to my Melsh-English Dictionary...

For now, here's a quick photo:

More details will surely follow, but I wanted to announce the winner of my giveaway! After much highly technical and advanced choosery involving torn up scraps of paper with names scrawled on, which I accidentally dropped on the floor and decided that was as good a way as any of shuffling them, I picked out....

Scrappydiva!

Congratulations, Anthea :) I'll be in touch to organise your prize, and I hope you thoroughly enjoy it!

322 of 365

2011-11-28T06:56:00.008Z

18th November: I scrapped a layout :)

Detail: subscription

Blogging For Bliss

2011-11-27T18:00:00.000Z

A while back, the lovely Cheri offered people the chance to have a read of this book:

I leapt at the chance, and was thrilled when it arrived with me via various other bloggers in various other locations! I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and the time has come for me to send it on to Amy, who I'm sure will thoroughly enjoy it too :) Many thanks Cheri for sending this book on its journey! xx

Now, some of you may have missed out on the chance to read it; I thought maybe I could do something about that? ;) I've been having a little look at Amazon and both the UK and US versions thereof currently have this book in stock. In fact, so does Canada... And indeed so do France and Germany and Italy and Spain and China and Japan!

So, here's my plan. If you'd like to have your own copy of this lovely book, and you live in one of the countries mentioned above, please express an interest via a comment on this post. What I'm hoping to be able to do is generate an Amazon gift certificate to the value of the book in whichever country the winner lives in. I've never actually tried this with a non-UK version of Amazon so if the winner is overseas I may have to think of an alternative method, but I'm hoping I can make it work! Once I've picked a winner and established where it is they live I'll investigate ways and means....

The closing date for entry is Sunday 27th November, at 6pm GMT. By then I should be home from my special Bloggers' Weekend Away so I hope to announce a winner that evening (though it may be a day or two later if life gets in the way, as it has a habit of doing!) Till then, I'll leave this post top, so scroll down if you want to see any new Project 365 photos.

Good luck! :)

321 of 365

2011-11-27T06:50:00.011Z

17th November: In my role as one of Santa's Elves, I had to write to the children at school asking them if they'd like to write to Santa and receive a reply from him. Which meant photocopying 200 2-page letters and stapling the 2 pages of each together, counting them out into class sets and taking them to each classroom..... (Father Christmas, please note that I've been a very good and helpful girl this year, especially that day!!)

Detail: prize

320 of 365

2011-11-26T06:50:00.012Z

16th November: The Mother and I spent the morning at a big local shopping outlet, getting some of our Christmas shopping done :) (And then in the afternoon I went to Asda for the weekly shop, and followed my usual pattern through November and December of adding in just a couple of imperishables for the Christmas food fest, to spread the cost - this week it was the turkey!)

Detail: advance

319 of 365

2011-11-25T07:00:00.014Z

15th November: My issue of the new scrapbooking magazine arrived :) So good to see another scrapbooking mag, I've really missed Scrapbook Inspirations since its sad demise - and even more exciting because the Design Team includes my talented and lovely friend Sian! :)

Detail: ribbon

318 of 365

2011-11-24T06:51:00.019Z

Imagine photo here!

14th November: We have a tradition that on someone's birthday they bring cake into work for everyone to share (I should maybe add that I do mean someones who work with us rather than random someones who happen to have a birthday!!) This particular colleague had had a cake made for her with a photo on it, so I can't share the pic, sadly - but I can tell you that the cake was delicious ;)

Detail: evaluate

317 of 365

2011-11-23T06:57:00.004Z

13th November: Remembrance Sunday. The first part of our church service took place at the memorial.

Detail: journal

Tuesday Tutorial: Wandering Snake Book

2011-11-22T12:19:00.001Z

Hooray - the faces are all back with me, beautifully coloured in :) And so, as promised, here's a tutorial for putting together a 'wandering snake book'!

I'm hoping that those who took part in the project will find this useful as a possible way of displaying their images, but even if you didn't take part you may find a use for a little book such as this for something else - photos cropped small, your own stamped images, any other tiny keepsakes...

First, find a piece of cardstock that will give you a good contrast with the colourful faces. I've gone for black. (Actually, perhaps I should say that first you'll need to trim the excess cardstock from the images!)

The stamped images measure a little under 2x2", so I wanted each 'page' of my book to be 2x2", which would leave a narrow black border around the edge. With 16 images that meant I needed my cardstock to measure 8x8" to start with, so I began by trimming it to that size. You can make a book with 3x3" pages by starting with 12x12" cardstock if you prefer. (The basic rule is to start with a square, and each square page will have sides that measure 1/4 of the original square's sides.)

Next, score the cardstock at every 2" (or at every 3" for a larger book, or at the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 points of any other size square). The Martha Stewart scoreboard is ideal for this, but you can measure and score the lines or if all else fails just fold the cardstock in half, open out, then bring each side in to meet the middle crease.

Turn the cardstock 90 degrees and score again, so now it's divided into 16 smaller squares.

Next, cut along some of the scored lines to create an 'M': cut from the bottom of the first vertical scored line, up 3 squares, leaving the top square still joined; cut from the top of the second vertical scored line, down 3 squares; cut from the bottom of the third vertical scored line, up 3 squares. (This is a lot clearer when you refer to the photo!)

Now we fold the book together. Starting at the bottom left corner, alternate mountain and valley folds (ie, fold one crease down then the next up - again, refer to the photo). When you reach a corner just keep folding alternately up then down till you reach the final square.

That's the basic book put together :) All that's left is to add the images. You have some choices here; if you like, you can arrange them so they look best with the book opened out, and just fold it together for storage. In that case, the arrangement would be something like this (though please note that I haven't stuck my faces down here so they've shifted slightly out of position):

If you prefer, you can arrange them so that as you turn the pages of the book the images are all the right way up - because of the way the original piece of cardstock 'goes round corners', once opened out the position of the images would be something like this:

(Though if you go for that plan it's better to stick in one face at a time as you work through the book, so you can make sure each is the right way up as you turn the pages.)

Another option, and the one I went for, is to use both front and back of the original cardstock. As I worked through the book I added a face to every other page, and will use the facing pages to add a few details - this could be the blog address and geographical location of each participant, or quotations, or anything you like!

Having stuck in the faces as I turned the pages of the book so that each one felt the right way up as I navigated the twists and turns of the folds, the layout looked like this:

Please note, though, that yours may vary slightly depending on exactly how you fold the book and how you turn the pages. I went with what felt logical to me but how you follow those turns may differ slightly. I've shown my layout for your reference but I'm not suggesting that you follow it exactly!

And here's how mine looks all folded together:

I'm having to hold mine closed here for the photo, as it does have a tendency to want to spring open! You can incorporate a ribbon into the design to tie it closed, or add a tie of some sort afterwards, or make a little box to keep it in which will keep it together - there are lots of options :)

As you can see from the photo above, I used two of my spare faces for a decoupage technique for the cover; I cut out just the hair from one of them and used foam pads to add it as a raised frame on top of the complete image.

How about a bonus tutorial for another possible little book?

The cardstock I had started with above was 12x12", so I had two trimmed off strips, one 4x12" and one 4x8". I cut the second down to 4x6" and then scored each strip every 2 inches along its length:

I overlapped the end panel of each strip and stuck them together:

This gave me a little book with 16 panels altogether (counting the front and back), each 2x4". By adding a face to the top half of each page I have the option to add details, quotations etc to the bottom half, or alternatively I can add a simple body to each by drawing it on or cutting out triangles of patterned paper to create dresses or - so many ideas!!

Do please ask if anything isn't clear enough!

And now that the first phase of the project is complete, phase 2 can begin :) I already have 11 names on my list (spots 16-26 below) but can take up to 15 (ie spot 30 below), so if you're interested in taking part please sign up on the Linky. All details can be found on my original post. I'll be in touch soon with everyone who's expressed an interest :)

316 of 365

2011-11-22T06:52:00.013Z

12th November: The Doctor took The Children to the cinema to see the new Tintin film. I was a bit worried that it would disappoint me, so I'm happy to wait till I can watch it at home for free. Instead of accompanying them, therefore, I took myself to the nearby shops to pick up a few Christmas presents and an outfit for our Christmas 'do' at work, and then enjoy a gingerbread latte or two while I used a beautiful birthday gift from a dear friend to make lists of Christmas gifts to buy, Christmas cards to write, and other things to do - and then read a book loaned to me by another lovely blog friend :)

Detail: outfit

A Quiet Moment

2011-11-21T17:51:00.016Z

A quiet moment with my The Tomboy, standing together on a bridge in the Chinese Gardens at the Huntington. Photo taken by The Creative Beast and kindly forwarded to me.

Cosmo Cricket papers, October Afternoon alphas, and journaling sticker, washi tape and a couple of blooms and buttons

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Scrapbook Starting Points

Yes I Really Did

2011-11-21T12:07:00.019Z

Yes, I really did drag the poor kids up and down the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

Yes, I really did photograph 160 different stars (actually, 161 - I already scrapped the photo of Colin Firth's star).

Yes, I really did print off those 160 photos at such a tiny size that you can't even read the names on the stars.

Yes, I really did cut out each tiny photo, apply even tinier pieces of double-sided tape, spend a couple of hours arranging them and rearranging them and then sticking them down.

Yes, I really did feel that this process was worthwhile.

Yes, I really did write out this whole story round the edge of the 160 tiny photos.

I'm a scrapbooker. It's what I do. And your point is?

Photos taken along the Walk of Fame, Hollywood. in August 2011.

Scraps of various papers - mainly Crate Paper and a bit of Lily Bee; lots of tiny index print photos; Thickers

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

315 of 365

2011-11-21T06:51:00.009Z

11th November: Haircut day :) But I like that I'm wearing a poppy so the day is clear, too.

Detail: eleven*

* The clock in my car is the only one I have that shows the date and time together in a digital format. Shame it shows the year in full, but the fact that it also gives the temperature - and the temperature just happened to be 11 degrees just then! - totally makes up for that :)

I Love Cameras

2011-11-20T18:05:00.013Z

It's true - I do love cameras :) I particularly love my trusty Nikon dSLR (and look forward to taking a short photography course next term to help me to make the most of it!) But I'm also fascinated by information about cameras and how they work, such as this display at the California ScienCenter, and how I *love* to see old cameras such as these in a fabby shop in Ventura :)

Amy Tangerine papers, camera printables by SJ, Thickers

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

Making Feathers Fly

2011-11-20T12:08:00.011Z

The day we went to Santa Monica we saw someone riding around on a 'parrot bike'. It was decorated lavishly, and at least 4 parrots were perched on it in various places! We saw the guy a couple of times and at one point stopped to watch for a while. All seemed well till one of these two parrots sidled a little too close to the food dish for the other's liking!

Papers by Webster's Pages, My Mind's Eye and (I think) Scenic Route; swirl stamps by Stampendous, Glitz alphas and Thickers

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Scrapbook Starting Points

314 of 365

2011-11-20T06:54:00.007Z

10th November: The Year 1 class (age 5) have been reading the story of the gingerbread man, and made some gingerbread people for themselves. They made one each plus some spares, then brought the spare ones round to the lucky staff! They were delicious :)

Detail: full

Super Max!

2011-11-19T18:27:00.017Z

I'm not a big user of glitter and glitz; I do have some shimmer mists and enjoy using them but it's more for the spritz of spray than the sheen, and the day I discovered I could get more colour and less shine by just not shaking the bottle first was a happy one!! If I do want to add some sparkle though then my favourite way is to use Stickles, as they're relatively easy and 'clean' and you get a good intensity of glitter :)

The journaling doesn't show up in the photo because I used a silver pen, but the full title is actually 'Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Super Max!'

Papers by American Crafts, random chipboard shapes - manufacturer unknown, silver alphas by Simply Creative, silver Thickers

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

Dragonfly

2011-11-19T12:16:00.001Z

This is the dragonfly that I was convinced was a plastic model, due to its size and the apparent solidity of its wings - until it moved! (Since photographing the layout I've added an extra flower in the darker orange to the left hand side, by the way. The corner of that section looked a bit off balance with the rest of the page!)

Flowers punched from scraps of various papers, and rub-on lettering without a brand name from a craft shop bargain bin...

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

313 of 365

2011-11-19T06:53:00.005Z

9th November: The Children had been saving their pocket money for some time so they could afford some Warhammer supplies - today was shopping day!

Detail: meeting

JYC

2011-11-18T18:26:00.021Z

While I've been thinking of Christmassy things, I pulled out my supplies for this year's Journal Your Christmas :) This year I'm planning to go small, just as I did for Learn Something New; I've cut some 'pages' (or rather cards!) 3x4", using some colourful Echo Park papers I got in a kit last year and immediately earmarked for this project! I've popped the cards, the rest of each sheet of paper and the sticker sheets that came with the kit into a box, along with a few Bazzill borders and a die-cut tag shape, as my starting point. I'll add other bits and pieces as I go along.

The cards are too small to add meaningful photos, but I plan to do some sort of December Daily too so any photos will go into that. And there won't be a huge amount of space for journaling, but I journaled pretty throughly last year so I'm not too worried about that either! Anything I want to write down will go on the back of each card, and I can fit quite a lot of my tiny writing into that space ;)

Are you JYCing this year? Or DDing? Or both? Have you done any preparation yet? Or do you like to take it as it comes? Are you excited about Christmas? Or not ready to even think about it yet?!

Tag!

2011-11-18T12:16:00.003Z

I've also had a bit of fun making tags in response to those challenges of Shimelle's :)

Jenni Bowlin bingo cards, Basic Grey papers, Tim Holtz rosette die, ordinary luggage tags!

I started off with the garland, but only had the supplies to make a short one in this style. And in fact, the place I want to hang this is so narrow that even so the garland is too long! I shall just hang 5 of them, and the remaining one can be used as a gift tag for a special Christmas gift for someone :) In which case, it should be the tag that says 'GIVE', don't you think?!

But I also made another Christmas card, using the tiniest of tiny tags to spell out the greeting :)

My Mind's Eye paper, tiny tags from the Post Office, tiny coloured staples from The Works, tiny black peel-off letters.

312 of 365

2011-11-18T06:58:00.013Z

8th November: The Boy attended his last Scouts meeting - with some sadness, but we're sure it was the right thing for him to change direction now :)

Detail: hurried

A Few More Cards

2011-11-17T18:09:00.002Z

And I also made several Christmas cards in response to those challenges I mentioned earlier :)

Trees cut from a scrap of My Mind's Eye paper, stuck with foam pads onto another co-ordinating piece from the same range.

Roughly stitched circle filled with buttons, as before.

A teeny tiny pocket card containing a season's greetings tag! Papers by Basic Grey, chipboard button by Sonburn Design, tag I think by ~~Ormolu~~ Ali Edwards (thanks, Amy!)...

A Christmassy woven card using scraps of Basic Grey, with a little circle embellishment I created last year as part of my Journal Your Christmas but didn't end up using.

And it's good to have made a start on my Christmas cards, too! :)

A Few Cards

2011-11-17T11:51:00.022Z

Inspired by a combination of Shimelle's challenges on her blog over the weekend and her additional input via the Pretty Paper Party class, I've made quite a few cards recently :) Here are some of them:

A leftover scrap of Crate Paper (Farmhouse Collection), with a matching circle punched from another scrap and raised up on foam pads. It doesn't show but the apples are all covered in Glossy Accents. Greeting will be added later when I know what occasion I want to use it for!

Another scrap of Crate Paper, with several matching pieces cut from another scrap and raised as before and with a button added. Again, I'll add the greeting when I'm ready to use the card.

The circle is just stitched fairly roughly a couple of times, then filled with colourful buttons from my extensive collection!

One of my favourite card designs is to create a little pocket then fill it with strips with greetings printed, stamped or stuck onto them. These are scraps of My Mind's Eye and - not sure where the other little piece came from... The stickers are DCWV.

A woven card using up scraps from various papers, including Crate Paper, Fancy Pants and Lily Bee. The stickers are American Crafts.

Always handy to have a few more cards in stock :)

311 of 365

2011-11-17T06:55:00.011Z

7th November: As we don't have a spare bedroom, we gave our bedroom to The Parents-In-Law during their visit, and we slept on the sofa. Not the most comfortable experience!

Detail: bliss

Sweet Like {Cotton} Candy

2011-11-16T18:10:00.000Z

Why use a sketch for just one layout when you can make it work for two?! They'll be in different albums so their similarity won't be obvious unless you happen to be looking through my Christmas album and my California album consecutively! Or unless you already know, of course. But you won't tell, will you? ;)

Paper - unknown. Ancient from stash. Pretty white pearls by Dovecraft. Alpha stickers by Glitz and Thickers!

The kids enjoying a sweet treat as we waited for the next 'showing' of the Jedi Training Academy. Despite the apparent evidence in these photos, we did divide it equally between them! Not the healthiest of snacks, but if you can't enjoy a treat like this at Disneyland, when can you?! ~August 2011.

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Scrapbook Sketch of the Week

Mince Pies

2011-11-16T12:52:00.001Z

Do you ever 'pre-prepare' your layouts? Either by making the backgrounds ready, or even making pretty much the whole page ready to add photos to later? It's not something I do often - I can only think of one or two examples, in fact! - but I know that some people do this very successfully.

Yesterday I had a go at doing that; I wanted to make a page about Christmas cooking and decided to focus first on the mince pies I make each year. I know that somewhere in my archives I have a photo of a mince pie I've baked, but I also know that it isn't a great shot, and actually I'd prefer to have a few smaller shots of the different stages anyway. So, rather than wait till I've made this year's batch before I make the page, I've put together most of the layout and will just add the photos and a few finishing touches later.

I think my preference is still to make my layouts WITH the photos, on the whole, but I can see how this approach will be useful for given times and situations :) Just mustn't forget to have my camera handy when baking time comes around!!

~~Patterned paper I've had so long I can't remember where it's from~~! Patterned paper from DCWV (thanks, Fiona!) Brads ditto... But I can at least tell you that the alpha stickers are quite definitely Thickers!!

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Scrapbook Sketch of the Week

310 of 365

2011-11-16T06:51:00.009Z

6th November: The Doctor and I went to see the comedian Milton Jones, and had a wonderful time :) It was a lovely day altogether - The Mother-In-Law very kindly took us all (including my The Mother) out for a carvery lunch to celebrate The Father-In-Law's birthday (which had been on Friday).

Detail: choice

The Big Box

2011-11-15T18:56:00.000Z

I'm sure I'm not the only one who, as a child (or even as an adult!), has spotted a BIG box under the Christmas tree and secretly (or not so secretly!) hoped that it's for them. Well, one year, that big box WAS for me :) And while my delight was tempered slightly by the fact it was also, jointly, for The Brother, it was still pretty darn exciting to unwrap what turned out to be our first computer... Many happy hours of gaming and programming on that Atari lay ahead of us! But somehow, I've never managed to get that story told.

Until now, that is!

It doesn't matter that I don't have any photos to commemorate the occasion. It's the memory that I want to record. It's written on the tag that's tucked behind that big box on the right. And now it's in my album, hooray! :)

Basic Grey papers wrapped round scraps of cardstock for the gifts; a Papermania swirl stamped in green for the tree; Sonburn Design chipboard buttons and scraps of ribbon for the baubles; Thickers for the title...

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's challenge to document a holiday memory that was hitherto missing from my albums

309 of 365

2011-11-15T06:57:00.011Z

5th November: I received my ballot papers - my teaching union is deciding whether to strike.

Detail: sparkler

We Nearly Saw A Basketball Game

2011-11-14T18:03:00.001Z

...but too many other people had the same idea so all we could do was stand on tiptoe and try to peek over their shoulders! We really didn't have a clue what was going on (but chances are that would have been the case even if we'd had a clear view...) but it was still interesting to hear the commentary and soak up the atmosphere for a little while.

Venice Beach, 27/8/11

Patterned paper from all kinds of manufacturers; likewise alpha stickers, but definitely including Thickers!

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

Look Up

2011-11-14T12:04:00.000Z

It's amazing what stunning, pretty and/or unusual sights can be found when you just remember to look up...

Papers from My Minds Eye and Fancy Pants

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

308 of 365

2011-11-14T06:53:00.009Z

4th November: The Parents-In-Law arrived at lunchtime. So I spent the morning doing some emergency housework! It was lovely for us to be able to spend The Father-In-Law's birthday with him :)

Detail: birthday

Piano

2011-11-13T18:06:00.000Z

I got this Jenni Bowling paper in a kit, and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure how (or even if!) I would use it....

And then along came Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party :)

Not only did I make a page, I made a card, too!

Sentimental Fruits

2011-11-13T11:48:00.000Z

In a short lull between layouts I decided to make a batch of little cards :) I used the Sentimental Fruits collection from the talented SJ, printing them straight onto cardstock to make the base cards then again onto scraps of patterned paper (left over from the scrapbooking frenzy) to paper piece the pictures!

A bit of highlighting with Stickles on the Lemonade card and they were done :)

This post was brought to you by Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

307 of 365

2011-11-13T06:51:00.008Z

3rd November: So yes, the forms I'd asked my colleagues to return by 13th October were indeed overdue!

Detail: candy

First Class

2011-11-12T17:54:00.017Z

We ordered some school photos of The Boy - naturally; we had to mark his first school photo at secondary school! But also, they turned out rather well :) With the pack we chose we got a sheet of 'photo postage stamps'. A nice idea, but it's not as if they're pre-paid postage, and I can't imagine using them on anyone's envelope when we don't have an equivalent of The Tomboy. (Neither can I imagine having the time to make a set with a pic of The Tomboy, though the idea did occur to me!) So I figured I could use them on a layout instead :)

Squares punched from Pink Paislee papers, white cardstock trimmed with deckle-edge scissors, kraft cardstock because it reminds me of a brown envelope, Pink Paislee journaling card, the return of the Thickers...

The journaling card paperclipped behind the sheet of photos pulls out to show a few details - name of school, date he started, name of form tutor, etc.

Happy Birthday to The Father!*

2011-11-12T11:51:00.002Z

* Ahem. Truth is, he doesn't actually read my blog! So really this is just an excuse to show you the card I made for him during Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party.... ;)

306 of 365

2011-11-12T06:52:00.011Z

2nd November: I took the car in for a service. Unfortunately, they discovered that the reason it had been a bit grumpy starting recently was that it needed a new battery - and also that the tread on one of the tyres was right down so we needed a new tyre :( It ended up costing 3 times as much as we'd been expecting :(

Detail: museum

Never was so much owed by so many to so few...

2011-11-11T16:28:00.002Z

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon

When you go home, tell them of us and say:

For their tomorrow, we gave our today.

John Maxwell Edmonds

11 at 11 past 11 on the 11th of the 11th of the 11th...

2011-11-11T11:11:00.023Z

I couldn't let an occasion like '11:11 11/11/11' go by unremarked, could I?! This is why I skipped 10 on the 10th yesterday - I've had 11 on the 11th of the 11th of the 11th planned for over a year now.... ;) So this is me, from 1 to 11...

One darling husband. I am so very lucky to be with this caring, supportive, funny, interesting and very special man :)

Two lovely children. OK, maybe they're not lovely all of the time! But oh, there are so many moments when they make me feel so proud to be their mother :)

Three teaching days per week. Two half days of teaching Maths to primary school pupils (plus a bit of 1:1 Maths tuition on those days sometimes) and one two-hour papercrafts class, teaching adults. I love that I can combine my love of Maths and my love of papercrafts with my teaching vocation :)

Four weeks of Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party class; I've lost count of the number of layouts and cards made now!! I'm so grateful for inspirational crafters who share their knowledge and expertise, and for the pleasure that crafting gives me :)

Five days since The Doctor and I went to see the comedian Milton Jones - and what a fabulous time we had! The guy is hilarious, and I love that he can be so funny without needing to be smutty or unkind or crude. I'm thankful for the chance to spend some time with The Doctor, and I'm so very grateful for the gift of laughter :)

Six weeks (and a couple of days) till Christmas, yay! This is one of my favourite times of the year. I love the joy and happiness and sharing and family time and - yes, the gifts! And I love the chance to reflect often on God's great gift to us :)

Seven houses lived in during our first seven years of marriage; but we've now been living in this one for nearly seven years. I'm so grateful that we were able to settle before the children started school, so they've had the stability and continuity of not needing to change school - and I'm so thankful that we haven't needed to pack up all our stuff in boxes in a while! :)

Eight months since our garage roof was fixed. Not exactly a happy memory, that episode, but I'm happy at least that I had to look up when it was, the memory has so faded! And I'm still counting the blessings of no injuries to anyone and helpful neighbours :)

Nine years with our beloved daughter. Can't believe how tall and grown up she's getting! Can't believe she's in her penultimate year at primary school! So thankful she's healthy and happy :)

Ten weeks since we got back from America. The memories are still pretty clear though, it was such a special time! I'm so grateful we all had the chance to travel to such an amazing place and have such a wonderful time there :)

Eleven years with our beloved son. Can't believe how tall and grown up he's getting! Can't believe he's in his first year at secondary school! So thankful he's healthy and happy :)

Many ways in which I am blessed. Many things to be thankful for. Many reasons to be happy.

May you have a blessed, thankful and happy 11/11/11 xx

305 of 365

2011-11-11T06:53:00.006Z

1st November: The Boy came home from Scouts clutching a handful of new badges. As he'll be leaving soon (he's involved in too many things, sadly, so something has to give) I won't be sewing them onto his uniform - I shall probably stitch them onto a special blanket or such like together with his Cub badges, as a permanent record of this time.

Detail: yellow

Folded embellishments - a tutorial

2011-11-10T12:31:00.007Z

You were kind enough to express an interest in a tutorial in the paper folding technique I used while making this layout - thank you :)

OK, firstly you need a square of patterned paper. You can cut squares to size or use a square punch; the size really depends on how big you want your photo corner or embellishment to be. I'll say a bit more about sizing later. I'm using a large square (4") just to make the photos clearer!

Fold your square in half diagonally, with the pattern on the outside (if you know any origami terms, this is a mountain fold!) At every stage make the fold as accurately as you can, and crease it firmly. You may want to use a bone folder to get a good, sharp crease. Then open back out to the square.

Then fold along the other diagonal, again with the pattern on the outside, and open back out to the square.

Next fold in half horizontally, this time with the pattern inside (a valley fold in origami), and open out again.

You can see here how the paper should look after these three creases have been made. You should find that if you press gently you can encourage the paper to fold along each crease, with the sides tucking neatly inside, to form a triangle. (This is a bit tricky to describe - ideally I'd make a video, but time constaints make that impossible right now! All I can say is that if you give it a try you should see how it works!)

The folded triangle should look like this - you can see from the second photo how the sides have tucked neatly inside.

Now we're going to add the decorative feature! As you saw above, we have two layers on each side of the triangle. Take hold of just the top layer on the left and bring the point to meet the top corner of the triangle, creasing firmly.

Similarly, take hold of the top layer on the right hand side and fold the point up to meet the top corner of the triangle.

I've opened mine out again just to show you how those creases look:

But you don't need to open out those last folds, as you've now completed one folded piece. Yay you! :)

As you can see, there's a little 'pocket' inside the triangle.

You can use the piece as a photo corner (or indeed, adorn the corner of any piece of paper on your layout, including the base cardstock!) by slipping it over the corner in question like so:

You can allow the little folded bits on top to stick up slightly, as mine do here, or you can add a dab of glue to hold them down if you want to keep them neat and flat. You can also choose whether to add these pieces to all 4 corners of your photo or paper, or just to adorn 1 or 2 corners.

If you measure the diagonal of your original square and then halve it, this gives you the length of a shorter side of your photo corner. For example, if your square of paper has a diagonal measurement of 2 inches, the photo corner will extend 1 inch along each side of the photo. (In practice I don't tend to actually measure them, but it's useful to have a rough idea of how big the photo corner will be compared to the original square.)

To take this a step further and create an embellishment, you'll need to fold 4 of the pieces described above.

One simple way to use them is to place them corner to corner, sticking them down as you go, to create this 'flower' which is the same size as your original square:

To make a slightly different and slightly smaller embellishment, tuck the corner of one folded piece under the flap of another:

You're aiming for this:

(You can add a dab of glue to hold them together if necessary, but I find that they fit together snugly enough that I don't need to stick them.)

In the same way, add a third piece by tucking its point under one of the flaps as before:

Now it looks like this:

Finally, slot the fourth piece under the flaps on the final side to complete the shape:

Here's a closer look at the photo corner on my layout :)

And here's the folded embellishment, finished with a glittery foam sticker in the centre :)

Anything not clear? Please do ask! I've written this under the influence of children, so who knows what nonsense I might have come out with ;)

304 of 365

2011-11-10T06:50:00.003Z

31st October: No, not a Hallowe'en costume - we don't do Hallowe'en, remember?! This was the day that my timetable was switched around a bit because of (planned) staff absence, and I took a class swimming.... And these are the fetching plastic overshoes I had to wear poolside!

Detail: order

Wednesday Wordle

2011-11-09T12:37:00.000Z

It's been a while since I shared a blog Wordle - I thought I'd take a little break from the layouts to make one today :) Here it is:

It's no surprise that certain words loom large here! Layout, Shimelle, prompt, paper, photo and - who'd have thought it?! - Thickers.... ;)

Not met Wordles before? Not sure how to make a blog Wordle? They're very straightforward but if you'd like a bit of help you can check out the tutorial I wrote a while ago :)

303 of 365

2011-11-09T06:52:00.007Z

30th October: Sunday, so no prompt for Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party; however, the new prompt for 4x6 Photo Love went up, so I had a happy time scrapping a set of 10 photos from the Huntington :)

Detail: back

Best Friends

2011-11-08T19:10:00.001Z

I wanted to show the friendship between The Tomboy and her friend by allowing the emphasis to be very much on the photographs :) These two are so very alike!

Echo Park paper and border, Thickers

This layout was inspired by Shimelle's April prompt for the 4x6 Photo Love class