I've been tagged - 6 weird things... :-) thanks Sue

6 weird things eh...? Well, this shouldn't be too hard, let's see...

1)I hate the curtains to be disturbed... if someone lifts the curtains to peep out, they must be replaced just so... or I FLIP!

2)I don't like having shoes on my feet. I'll go barefoot at every opportunity, and live in flip flops from spring to autumn... The first thing I do when I get in the house is kick my shoes off. I'm not too mad on coats either or anything else that 'clutters me up!'

3) I was all alone when I gave birth to my son, at home.

4) I'm almost 11 years older than my other half... but after 20 years together it doesn't seem to matter all that much anymore - if it ever did. I think we've kind of blended... and met in the middle!

5)I'm scared of vampires, and as a young girl slept with my headboard draped in crosses and my window ledges strewn with garlic cloves.

6) I'm very superstitious and love folklore. I have 3 sets of tarot cards, and read playing cards as well as runes. I've been told by several mediums that I'm very spiritual and would be a good psychic. My Paternal Grandmother who I never met was quite a famous medium in Liverpool, and predicted my parents marriage before they'd even met.

I don't think I can tag 6 peeps, coz I don't know who's done it and who hasn't - but if anyone sees this and fancies having a go - consider yourself tagged!

Contentious... but you gotta laugh....

....it seems everyone's talking about the latest blog craze... commonly known as blog pimping.... And most are finding it as wearisome as I am.

Not content now to merely have a blog and upkeep it so family and friends and interested others can pop on when they have a few minutes and catch up... some places are actively encouraging the boring, needy few to pimp their blog at every opportunity! Yep - Some forums have whole threads dedicated to people saying "I blogged!! I blogged!!" and then to go on and try to coerce people into visiting by offering snippets... and ... stuff :-)

C'mon over for a RAK!
C'mon over for a freebie!
C'mon over... i'm weird as f*ck - check me out.

Sorry if I offend the innocent out there... but it's becoming epidemic - though of course there are still the odd few who outshine all others - but at least they're sleeping at night, eh? Would be awful going to bed with the sick realisation that you'd only had 81 hits today wouldn't it..... How could you survive knowing that????

Love it Elsie!

Elsie Flannigan's new range - lovin it lovin it lovin it.....!!!


Now where can we see more.... of this girl....and her stuff ? ;)

YES IRENE! Here......... at Pencillines - GDT this week - awesome :-)

check this!

Get over to the classroom at Carolinez and check out this weeks class by Pam (Sprogpaws) My god! It's good :-)

I'm not here!

Not supposed to be here anyway.... but just wanted to say I got my kit from Scrapping Angels today and it's bloooooming gorgeous my petals!

Still waiting on my crop-o-dile, but i know it's been despatched, and i have to say Happy Scrapper are nice peeps - great communication, which is what we love eh?

Still waiting on Artbase... hmmm....

Just bought a very cheeky shag pile rug for my bedroom... Lol! Chocolate brown and hugely chunky - Reminds me of the carpets we had in our first house many moons ago when I was but a teenage bride, heehee! My living rooms then were brown and beige with orange accents... isn't it funny how things come back round?
Much like this one here - only brown :-)

Bloggers - just a quick message to say I may not be about much... we have a heap of stuff to do here, and tomorrow sees the start of the BIG PULL together - we're hoping to gather momentum and really get things done in the next couple of weeks. Our bedroom furniture is now on order, and new bedding bought. On Sunday we go carpet hunting and next week we start to strip walls and get serious. Carl has a weekend project.... Today I bought a lovely old pine dressing table for a song... reason being it's rough as hell round the edges... That is - cosmetically. It's actually lovely, and a good rub down, and some stain and varnish and it's going to be beautiful. So, while I take 17 of my residents to the Pantomime a the local theatre on Saturday, Carl will be lavishing love on the wood... I hope!

The management and I have decided to treat our old dears to see 'Mother Goose'. I've booked the whole front row, and one seat in row C ( for a lady who refuses to be seen with us! Lol!) and we're all off for a bit of booing and hissing at the Matinee... wish me luck.

Had a very bad KEYS incident today - I can't even bring myself to talk about it yet as I'm still reeling.......! But suffice to say Paula... it beats all others to date! Lol!!

Have a fabby weekend everyone - think of me on Saturday.... ;-)

jk x

Thanks Andrea!

My friend Andrea - a digi artist - asked for a few piccies to work with a little while ago... So I sent her some of Ruben, that I'd received from Jazz on Msn.

Look what she did with them - gorgeous eh?

We did have a bit of a laugh tho. .. she nearly wrote 'The cutest cow in town - til she realised he was a dalmation!

I'm going to have to do some serious scraplifting I think, esp of this one :

Thank you Girlie - I think his Mama will love them :-)

brilliant service!

WOW!

My Banana Frog stamps are here already - fantastic - now thats what I call service :-)

And very lovely they are too! Snowflakes... fancy! How timely!

I swear... no word of a lie... this is what I got! How funny is that knowing how much I love them? :-)

You Are a Chihuahua Puppy

Small, high strung, and loyal. You do best in the city with a adults - young kids could crush you!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

Not for you?

Since I've put up links a few times to free digi kits/elements, I've had a few girlies tell me that while they love the look of digi, they don't want to DO digi... Well, all I can say is, me neither!

I have great respect for the real digital artists who create beautiful pages - some so gorgeous, you can barely tell they're not trad paper Lo's, but I can't say I've ever felt I wanted to attempt that myself. I do however, often cheat a bit and use printed out digi elements on my real paper layouts! This makes a sort of hybrid page and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not the first to do this - I'm sure lots of peeps do - and why not? You can size the images, recolour, add texture with buttons, brads, bling, glitter, by crumpling/ distressing / inking... whatever!

So next time you think "oh they're nice, but no good to me..."
Have a re-think - perhaps they are ;-)


WE HAVE SNOW!!!!!

Yes, woke up to a white world - I'll be taking my camera in to work this morning!!
(The bad news is, I have to go out now and scrape off my car.... hate that job!)

Deisel Mini Kit Free!

Check out this gorge freebie mini kit - really cute for those beloved doggie pages :-)

This one comes from Princess LaLa of design digital, one of the very talented digital DT members for Scrapforums. There's seriously scrummy stuff in her gallery ;-) I warn you!

Click here for the kit :-)

want FREE digi elements from the UK's Digi Queen?

The fantastically talented Kate Hadfield (what katie scrapped) has offered some free digi elements - grab them while you can.

I know loads of you are missing her brilliant articles and tutorials since Creative bit the dust so go grab yourself a piece of her work :-) to cheer yourself up.

Thanks Kate!

easy does it...

Not much from me tonight. Been wasting time again... ;-) Doh! I'm just about to have a look in the gorge box of delights I received from Caroline at the weekend though, as I have two class kits there and need to think about rustling up my projects for Feb and March.

Managed to get page C done on my mini a-z, but that's about it on the productivity level so far today.

Found a delightful little oblong shaped book in the Oxfam for 49p while out scouting today, which is just perfect for turning into something delish when I've finished this one. Who said I'm getting hooked on mini books...?? Eh? Eh?? It's that flaming Pixie and her sidekick Pam - pair of enchantresses! They've put a spell on me, they have!

But I seem to have been doing so much of this malarky lately, that I've finally succumbed and ordered a cropodile... well, I must need one... If they're that good...? Mustn't I? Also have some Banana Frog stamps coming my way, Anna's new kit, and a few bits from Artbase, including my BHG etc.... I just hope my commission cheques turn up soon or I'll be in all sorts of trouble!

Sweet dreams y'all!

jkx

As part of my plan to get more photos scrapped this year, I'm trying to do one simple quick LO everyday. Here's one I made today showing Rubie with his very early Christmas present - Rockin Rudolf!

The journalling tells how Mummy and Daddy were so excited about Christmas coming, that they somehow managed to convince Santa to bring one of Ruben's presents along a little early.... HOW NORTY!

No real embellies here (!!), just a quick bit of stamping, some PP's and a title. Even hand wrote the journalling to save time :-)

heavens....! It can be done....! ha haha!

*And my Art Journal challenge card for week 2 : *

Emily's prompt this week was 'what is powerful to you?'

Ah...Easy.

LOVE.

Love is the one thing which holds us together and keeps us strong. It gives us wings and wraps caring arms about us while we fly.

It had to be LOVE.

update on the a-z mini book challenge

Just realised I said I'd post up the mini book 'before' pictures - and I didn't :-) so here they are:
Told you it was grim...!

And here are the first completed pages:

Page A
Page B

I daren't make it too fat with elements as it won't close - I had a job getting it all back on the swirly binder as it was! Yes, I know I should have used book rings... well, at least I do now... :-)

Lost in transit?

I sent some photos to my brother out of the blue. Our only usual contact is a christmas card once a year. We never see each other or speak on the phone... we never fell out. Just never really got on in the first place. He was about 15 I think when I was born, and joined the Army at a very young age and lived abroad a lot of his life. After leaving the service he took jobs on oil rigs, and in the meantime I grew up - and we just didn't know each other that well, and never became close. Carl and he worked together for a while and they were friends then, but me and him never saw eye to eye, and it's been no loss to either of us, as far as I know.

But last week I sent him some photos of our Mother. I know he has none, and I all too few. Maybe I should have sent them years ago... but for whatever reason a couple of weeks ago I decided to do some pics for the family - some for my girls who loved their nannie to pieces and who have none, and I thought I'd do him some too. It's thanks to anam I have anything to send actually, becuase she fixed up a badly tattered one out of the kindness of her heart - I'd never have had the cash to get this done in a shop.

So I sent - one of those and another one too, with a small note and some explanation of the pics.

I didn't expect a gushing reply and mega thanks... but I guess i must have hoped for some sort of acknowledgement as I am now feeling bewildered and sad because I haven't heard a word. Just a simple thanks on a post it would have been nice... you know?

Maybe he's not well, maybe away.... maybe they're lost in the post... guess i'll never know, but I hate the thought that pic's of my little Ma are out there somewhere lost and alone.

I kind of wish I hadn't bothered now.

Oh well....

just being me.

Definitely not a Yummy Mummy, No sir, not me… I can’t type or write or spell, and I’m a hopeless driver too… No great shakes in the kitchen either…and green fingered I ain’t… And as far as Art goes… well, let’s just say I’m never gonna be a superstar… Come to think of it, I’m not much cop at anything really - and heaven knows, no one could ever call me a saint… So, with all these things I’m not….am I sad? Unhappy, wanting to be so much more?

Nah… I finally realised I’m ok - just being ME.

So behind...

After yesterday's happenings I am so behind - but like I care, eh?

For those who've asked, the boy is ok. Thank you.
He had his mate over last night for a sleepover and they had all the usual treats... He's off out now with his Dad to teach guitar - it's his new job - started recently, and he's very good at it too. He drafts a lesson plan, combines some music theory with practice, introduces new concepts and chords in a measured way, and all for a fiver an hour. Bless.

He has one pupil so far - starting with a new one this week tho'. Grown men who don't mind being taught by a 14 year old - well they were paying £19 and learning nothing they said, so they're well happy - and my lad's on his way to a new pined for amp. And some pedals. And a Led Zep hoody. And a My Chem Tee.....big ideas eh?

So I hope to get a bit done today but not sure I'll manage Shim's book. Shame - I fancied that.

Have a good day all, and keep your loved ones close.
You daren't let them out of your sight, dare you?

jk x

new class at Carolines

Karen (scrapdolly) has her class page up here and it's gorgeous, as ever. Pop over to the site for a look and page intructions - all welcome :-)

Oh no.... Please.... not again....

I got the phone call today that every mother dreads...

"Mrs Walker? This is Ms Taylorson. Vinnie has been involved in an incident of bullying in school..." Agonising pause... "and he was the victim..."

Well, of course he was - he's never gonna be the perp is he?

He's in year 10 - managed to get through year nine without incident.. but this is the call I've dreaded since he left middle school - where some of you will remember he was tortured on a daily basis... and his lower school which was no better - and in fact, where we moved him from at the end of year 2 because of the very same thing.

His tutor was beside herself... 'gutted' was her term.

She loves Vin - they all do - coz he's a great kid. He's respectful, decent, kind, warm and funny. Too witty for the bullies who hate his clever way with words and his brain, but also quirky and zany and full of personality which makes him both popular and hated at the same time.

I knew something was amiss... he'd come home with hurts two days running and something about the way he reported the incidents rang alarm bells. We asked, of course... he's 14... what more can you do? But a concerned buddy told today, and tried to get Vin to share - and though reluctant; eventually he opened up to a TA. Thank God for TA's eh?

His tutor is really lovely; she was genuinely heartbroken and wanted to let me know asap but unfortunately, she got the brunt, and I'm terribly ashamed right now. I did apologise for my reaction... and she said she has teenage sons herself and would be no different in my place, but I mean to make amends next week. Heaven knows the school has too few good teachers now - one must always remember never to shoot the messenger,eh?

I later spoke to the new head - drafted in from a tough inner city school as we were placed on special measures last term. Poor guy - he's had a very eventful 11 days in post I gather. He's a scouse - and a hard man, and means to sort this place out and I have every confidence in him and told him so. My boy is concerned however, about repercussions, and doesn't want to be seen as a snitch and lose respect from the older kids. But the thing is, this was premeditated - happy slapping - and I want to kill the little shit that filmed it more than i want to kill the guy who actually did the crime.

I am furious that a 6th former - yes, a 6th former - would hurt and humiliate a kid, barely fourteen.. who looks up to them like they're special... for a fecking laugh. For sport. For fun.

GOD! I am wild.

But I'll give the head a chance to get it right... not for this little snot's sake - but for my son's. And for the new headmaster who so badly needs our support in tackling this chaotic hell hole that calls itself a school.

Snapfish offer

6 x 4's are 9p each at Snapfish til Sunday night.

Just log in, upload your photos and place your order. Use coupon code 9PENCE at the checkout - no minimum order volume.

You can pick them up for free at your local Jessops to and avoid postage if you have a store near you. Offer open until midnight 21st January 2007.

at last

So I finally managed to get the covers done. Not sure I like the ribbons, but I did say i was using scraps for the book so they might stay... I'll see what else I have later when it's finished. The front is in my fave lollipop paper, and the inside a turquiosey colour. The back is lollipop shoppe check and the inside back cover a stripey one.

It's a jolly old affair, it is :-)

I wish you could see this flower - it's blooming gorgeous! A beady middle, and lots of layers, some solid and some gauzy.. yum!

It all looks more heavily inked than it is, in fact - I think that's a bit of the inside showing Lol. I'm hoping to get some pages filled tomorrow, and I'm working on the alphabet right now.

Exciting day for me tomorrow! I'm off to Craftability to purchase supplies for work for my craft club. I've got £70 which I raised doing a table top sale last month - so hope to get some nice bits for my ladies - it is all ladies - the gents are a bit disdainful though they take a great interest in the goings on, they won't actually sit down and get stuck in, but we don't care - we have a great time and a good natter, and the old girls love showing off their projects to the staff.

to be continued.....

A - Z of me.

Following on from my teamie Pam's A-Z of Me - mini book challenge - I 'm pleased to say I've actually made a start...! How very unlike me... :-)

Pam's doing a beer mat book, but as I never go to the pub, preferring to get sloshed in the comfort of my own home these days, I find myself right out of beer mats this week.... :-) So.... I thought I'd cannibalise a little note book I picked up in the charity shop last week for 69p.

It's sorta roundish and interesting looking, so that's what it's going to be.

It was covered in blue denim with chinese writing, but as that's not very ME, I have ripped and snipped and managed to get it all off, and got the papers and covers off the curly thing too, and it's slowly being basic grey'd and inked to within an inch of it's life, which, well, basically.... IS me.

Now, don't be expecting to see any of the new lines here, because much as I'm sure I 'd love them - I don't have any, and part of my resolutions was to try and use up some of the mountains of stash kicking around and cluttering up this scrap room - before I have No floor/shelf/box/cupboard/drawer space left at all....

So it's a mishmash of BG - but lots of Lollipop shoppe coz that's how I feel :-) fizzy and bright and a bit bubblegummy, you know?

Anyway, I'll post you a before and after tomorrow... but I warn you - it's grim....

BEFORE! Lol!

Later then x x

EMOight grow out of it.....

...this is what we keep telling ourselves, anyway... mwuaahahaha :-D

Oh, to be 14 and have mad hair again... eh?

this is better

This is what the card actually looks like.. it was late last night, I was tired, and the flaming flash was playing up. Took a pic later without the flash and bingo! my card looks like my card.... ho hum. I hated that whited out look!

Time please!

Oh dear.... Once again my time has run away with me... I really don't seem to be getting to grips with this word very well as yet, despite it being my 'one little word' for the year, for AliE's 2007 challenge.

This week, we were asked to find a definition of our word, and make a 3x5 card with the meaning on. This, so we could place it near us in a prominent postion, or somewhere we would see it often.

I searched for hours for a definition of time that wasn't totally scientific, or that somehow made some sense to me.... but it wasn't easy,and though I found one I quite liked...

Time is always changing. Time never stands still. Time is continuous, and not stationary. Time changes our perceptions, and our perceptions of time change continuously. Time is infinite; change is essential to time.

...it wasn't really saying much that I wanted to hear, so I thought about using a quote or something similar instead and hit on the lyrics of the song TIME by Pink Floyd

So.... finally.

Here is my card. Made pretty with beady dangly downs, and hung on the cork board which sits behing my PC desk.

Lyrics are:

Every year is getting shorter
Never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught
or half a page of scribbled lines
hanging on in quiet desperation
is the English way
the time has come, the song is over
thought I'd something more to say...



Let's hope I manage tomorrow's time a little better.

Blimey... why didn't I just buy a cropodile like everyone else when they were the new big thing.....??? I am struggling like mad with a project here, and I'm pretty sure if I had one of them there jobbies it'd all be over in a snap.

flaming tightwad.

predictions...2007

I made a little prediction a coupl of days ago to a few friends... Sure be funny to see it come off :-)

swear removed as no longer angry! it's fixed again.

I've lost my archive/ previous posts and links from the sidebar. But they are still in the template... why do I faff? eh? eh? I never learn.. do I?

Well... i seem to have got most of it back where it ought to be, but it's taken all flipping day and wasted my precious scrapping time. I am SO annoyed with myself.

That's it - no more messing about for me.

And i was only trying to put my lil fairy on there... but if she's going to be this much trouble, i'll have to think again!

searching for a game...

I am desperately searching for a game... it's an old one, and we played it for hours on end when the kids were small. Heaven only knows what happened to it - but we badly want it again.

It was called Taboo - and no, NOT the game where you have to guess what someone has on their card by listening to them describe it without saying certain words... Not that one at all.

This was an old game, perhaps called Taboo or maybe Tabu?

There were cards I recall, and I think dice too. The colours were muted and dark, and I think there were pictures of anchors and possibly compasses on the cards...

If anyone reading this knows this game PLEASE get in touch. I have googled and searched... and can't find anything out about it. I don't even know who made the game... but I must find it.

Edited to add:
The game I am looking for IS NOT the Hasbro one on Amazon. It is a completely different game to this. But thanks to those that have tried to help.

Further Edit!!

Guys! I know you are all trying to help........ but trust me........ the game on Amazon is NOT the game I want!!!!!! I want a completely different one!! Lol!!!!

I think my one may have had fake money involved... might even have been a bit piratey or something - it was not a game involving a buzzer and words you mustn't say! It was more of a gambling game/ a game of chance... it was weird... and it wasn't the hasbro one... HONESTLY!

Art Challenge week 1

here's my card - quick, easy and simple. I don't want this to be something I flap over. I just want to do the challenge and follow the prompts and have something at the end of the year to look back over.



So it's gonna be speedy - using scraps and the prompts - and that's all.

CHA sneak peeks

Look at these gorgeous scenic route papers coming out at CHA - they are so me and I want them now!

I think the range is called Laurel, and there are some other lovely designs, but these are the ones I NEED. NOW.

Well Done Gilly!

Wow - just heard that Gillian Hamilton has been asked to join DCM on their DT - now why am I not a bit surprised... because this girl is awesome is why!

Check Gillian's work here
and DCM here

Well done superstar! ;-)

looks like I'll be joining them....

Sue and Anna have somehow managed to intrigue me into doing Emily's art journal for this year:-) Simple enough I think, and it'll be fun - a canvas the size of a playing card cannot possibly take long to do - not even for me, the biggest procrastinator and waster of time in the world.

I have a bit of a thing about playing cards, see... I just love them... I don't know why, but have loads of packs. I'm always buying them... and yeah, sometimes I make books with them, but that uses about maybe 5 cards per book ... so no way does it account for the many assorted packs lying around all over our house - most of them unopened! Lol!

So there it is - I have the basics here - No probs. I have stamps, paint, scraps, ink, and thingummyjigs... I also have Emily's prompt; and I'll either use that or think of something else - so I suppose that means that thunderbirds, we are go :-)

Be back later on this weekend with pics - hopefully :-)

gotta laff....

Dogs are the leaders of the planet.

If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge?

:-) Smile and the world smiles with you :-)

CK Free Glamour downloads

Free here:

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/mag/article.ihtml?index_field=1858&_start_page_=1&issue=&backIssue=

And it's a hat trick!

The christmas layouts are back.... If you can take any more...

I just got too many fabby pictures and papers and stuff, to stop doing them yet. Hope I am not driving my faithful few readers away in a sea of red and green Lol!

These Rusty Pickle papers are quite scrummy actually, with pinks and blue smudged in with the trad colours making an unusual combi, but I liked them for these daft shots of us in the Santa hat. Had to call it a hat trick what with us three stooges all lined up - well, what else?

I've had the ghost letters a while and used them once or twice but i'm bored to death of them now, so stamped flourishes over them in an attempt to alter them slightly. Looks ok, I think. The tags list our Christmas goodies, and the journalling's just notes about our day.

Was offered some work, but while it sounded good, I think I'll just continue taking it wasy for a while. I can't even keep up with my on goals and deadlines at the mo - without taking on anything more.

I'm feeling very tired and truthfully more than a bit bored with my self imposed diet and booze ban. I usually have a break in Jan and go on the wagon for a couple of weeks - I always used to do a month - easy. But the last couple of years I've just cut back, but with the Carnival looming in 5 weeks, I need to be a bit stricter... still, it's no fun and I'm starting to miss my wine and treats.

Roll on Feb, I say! Lol! Talk about wishing your life away.... :-)

Feel the need to remind myself summer's round the corner....

I've loved doing all the Christmassy layouts... loved the trad colours (and the not so trad).

I still have stacks of Christmas layout catching up to do, so there will probably be more, but tonight - just for a change, I needed to remind myself that it won't always be cold and grey and wintry outside.... Oh no...We will have sunshine again! Blue skies... beers.... and fun in the garden.



Ok - it may not be paradise... and it sure ain't Kansas... but for a backyard luau it took some beating :-)
Happy days guys! happy days!

think you know your art from your elbow?

Try this :-D Lol.....!
http://www.modestypanel.com/artorcrap/#
Thanks to Laurie for this!
jkx

WOOHOO!!!!!! Pencillines!

OMG...!! I got so busy today with my challenge LO and costume hunting, I completely forgot I was going to be this weeks Guest designer/sketch artist on Pencillines!

Am I mad???

Definitely going senile... I have to agree with the kids now.... Lol!

OMG. I am SO excited - please go and look here at the layouts the girls made from my sketch. I did the layout before christmas as these gals are SO damned organised... and somehow forgot the date today until I thought about Ali's blog link and realised that if tomorrow was the 8th Jan - then tonight must be the 7th!!

MY night! hee hee!!

Wow... am I in a right tizz now :-) Ever seen anyone in a tizz doing the happy dance... it's a sight to behold, I can tell you!

Ali E one little word challenge

Just finished my layout for this challenge, and will post a link to it here on Ali's blog tomorrow, 8th Jan.
I had a great time doing this layout :-)

Dr Scrapbook wrote out a prescraption for me, which was then stamped and approved ;-)

I got to use one of my new journalling stamps, and though I still hate the idea of my writing on a page I plan to get used to it this year!

BG blush papers, bits and bobs and a LOT of ink.
Not too crazy about the pic (never am...) and I scratched it somehow too, but seem to have saved it in PSE... I'm getting better and more confidant with it, but still need more practice as I can never remember what thing does what!

My prescraption reads:

1. Several doses of scrapbooking a week, to be administered at evenly spaced intervals

2.New Kits frequently

3.Try to avaid long periods at the PC, chatting and surfing, as this may aggravate symptoms and prolong recovery

4. Unlimited Time. To be taken as and when required.

I think I'm gonna enjoy these challenges! Hope you like my silly layout Lol!

Been trying on Fancy dress stuff this morning.... :-) And having a root around on ebay too!

We know what we are going as now, and I just can't wait... Carnival is SO much fun!

We're all gonna go as the same thing this year, Jazz and Erk and the babby, and Lally too I think.

The Canaries carnivals are actually pretty big affairs and they take it very seriously out there, the costumes are fantastic and the atmosphere and colours just brilliant. The whole town will be involved and it will last all day and into the night-time - hope we manage to stay up for the fireworks this year - we were all so exhausted last time we had to go home early! Jazz won't let us start so early this year... it was me haunting to go, as I was terrified of missing anything... then we just wilted in the heat after about 6 or 7 hours Lol!

Following a prompt on Pixie’s blog, I checked out Ali Edwards Aezine newsletter for 2007. As a life artist Ali is offering her wisdom and sharing her journey this year – she asks if we wanna tag along, and I think I will, in my own way.

Anyone can sign up for the emails here: http://www.aliedwards.typepad.com/

To begin with it seems all we each need to do is choose a word which sums up what we want for ourselves for 2007. This will become MY word for the whole year.

Ali suggests giving yourself a little time to think about your word, considering it and weighing up what it might mean for you.
This I have done.

The word I chose was not the first word I thought of, nor even the second, but when it finally came to me - I knew it was THE one.

It was MY word.

Then the weekly challenge is to create something - anything - celebrating your word. Maybe just a blog post, or a layout, piece of art, journal entry or even a simple post it note.

This is my blog post, but I will also be making something and sharing it along with everyone else on 8th Jan . My word is:

TIME

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately, how much I waste, how fast it flies, how important it is in our lives, and how it should be allocated out in an everyday sense… time to play, time to work, time for family….. time for ME.

They say there is a time for every purpose under heaven – well, this is true…. But Boy! Does it try to get away from us! I am hoping to learn to make better use of my time this year, cram as much as I can in... and enjoy every second that I can while I still have it.

Unveiled!

Carolinez new forum!

After a few weeks of aggro with the site being frequently unstable, Caroline has decided to take the plunge and have SMAX (UKS) put her a new board together. Come on over and have a look round - we're a friendly group, with forums covering scrapbooking, altered art, and cardmaking as well as just chat and shopping talk etc, and we have weekly classes from the DT too- you can buy a kit for these or use your own stuff if you're on a stash diet at the mo! ;-)

http://www.carolinezcraftz.co.uk/forums/index.php

Look forward to seeing you there!

CC DT - come see our fabby stuff :-)

Me - jakey!
Caroline
LauraG
Scrapdolly
Sprogpaws Pam
Ria

Carl's Birthday yesterday

Happy Birthday to my Carlos Fandango for yesterday. The poor old fella's still on his antibio's so can't even have a celebratory drink this weekend... He's been really unwell for a couple of weeks, and now has another mouth abcess to contend with on top of everything else.

I think we need a holiday...
Somewhere warm and sunny and sandy and fun.... Carnival 2007 maybe? Lol!


Yeah.. I really do you know.... I think we need a bit of that :-)

Another Lyric Inspired Layout

This was originally destined for CS Feb issue - but as it's gone, I might as well share it on here. Gorgeous papers, some glittery lizards and insects jazz brought me home from America, and a bit o bling thrown in for good measure. Too bad it don't show up here - they're beeeeutiful! And as Funky As....



Whoops - just noticed it looks a bit blurry.... if you click on it, it looks ok tho. Probably my eyes.... feeling old today.

What a day I've had...

Blimey - it's been some day.

First thing this morning, on my way to work, I raced to the shop I bought our new Christmas decs from hoping to buy a replacement for the one Vinnie broke the other day throwing cushions at his Dad...

I mean, for heaven's sake! Was Carl on the ceiling??

And anyway - did he not get enough under the tree to keep him busy, that he had to resort to such boisterous games in the living room as a means of entertainment? I wasn't that annoyed when I thought I'd be able to replace it but now I know I can't, I'm cross. The lady told me to come back again in October... Oh ok... great. Like I'll remember that, eh?

Then into work to a mountain of admin I let slide in December when it was all happening.
Ho hum.

Then back into town, to buy Carl some birthday presents and cards. Vin went to Dunstable for the books that he'd asked for and I went into LB for whatever else caught my eye. While I was there I picked up a couple of bits and bobs as little gifts for my afternoon visitors. One of whom I felt I owed for an earlier kindness... :-) and the other who is just so damned cute!

Back at work in a flap, I somehow managed to break my key in half in the lock on my door....!! And so had to get the maintenance man to break in again... Need a new lock now, new set of keys, making good to the door... tut tut tut...

And Paula - didn't I tell you I was a menace with keys and locks and things? :-(

So, trying to keep out of trouble, I busied myself on the PC, until the nurse on duty came up and told me I'd had a phone call, but she thought I'd gone for the day and had told my caller so.

EEEEEK!!!!!!!

Anam and Ian and Fay were supposed to be coming after leaving Anna's... and coming quite out of their way too - by a couple of hours! OH NO! Talk about panic. Too late, I realised I had no one's numbers, so tried emailing peeps to seek help.... no good - got no one's email addy at work! No phone book either... I called Lemon - well, she was no help - stuck in hobbycraft... where else?? Lol! Tried Dolly... a couple of others. No help at all.

Then, just as I was getting really despondent - they turned up at the door! Nurse Nancy had told someone ELSE I'd gone home... So it was all alright Lol.

We had a lovely little visit - Fay is such a doll -I could have taken her home all too easily... so sweet and small and pretty... and that accent! And it was great to see Anam and have a gas while she was here. Too soon they had to go as they still had a long drive down south ahead of them, but I'm glad we managed to catch up, if only for a flying visit.

So - here's some piccies!




And there you have it - a terribly nerve jangling day for me altogether - and I've still got to get me flaming lock fixed tomorrow!

Anyone want to joing me in saying.....Bugger!!

Altered chocolate box.

The posh choccies were just divine girls... and of course I had to eat them up quickly.... but only so I could make this flower box, of course....! Lol :-)


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Amused to see the Big Picture Scrapbooking offering quote of the day, and a colour of the week.... Been there and done that lovey's.... ;-)

mwahahahah :-D

Todays layout...

...is from a Becky Fleck sketch. January 2007, which I collected from PageMaps today.



Just a quickie, but as I'm in the mood for scrapping I thought I'd take advantage and get another wintry one done :-) I'm dreading going back having had over a week off, but I return to work tomorrow, and I know it won't be so easy to find time then.

This is my dear old moggie, Henry (or Hamish, as my mother always called him). I dunno if it's coz he's getting on a bit now, but I seem to be scrapping him a lot lately. Maybe it's just coz I love the old green eyed devil, eh!

I do know I'm never going to get him back on the Whiskers super meat or tinned sardines/tuna that he usually eats. He's got far too used to scoffing prawns, roast beef, turkey, baked ham etc etc this past week. He'll turn his nose up at everything for days, I know he will, fussy thing! Unlike me... who can't wait for ordinary food to return to our table, so I can put the alka seltzer back in the cupboard!

She's on a roll.....!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Hope you all enjoyed your celebrations, or quiet night at home. We had planned a big party at my DD's house but with everyone being ill and injured it had to be called off, which is a great shame as we've had some fun times on New Years in the past - especially when my sister had the house in London and we'd all pile up there for a massive hoolie - fireworks, champers, decorations - the lot. Still, illness and bad luck can't be changed so it was a quiet one for us after all this year... No Matter! A new year dawns and to be truthful, I'm not sorry to see the back of the last one - even though I hate the speed at which the years are starting to fly by.

Talking of flying, I seem to be flying a bit myself in the scrapping stakes. Not normally one to be very productive unless I have a reason to be - deadlines etc, I have been happily making lots of layouts and altering bits and bobs these last couple of weeks - with no promting at all. This has to be good as my hoard of photos and stash grows ever larger... I never even seem to make a dent in the pictures, and the stash...? well, with all the sales about you know.... you have to indulge a little, don't you?

I leave you with a couple of layouts I did for scissor sisters
Tall ships, and {baby} you can drive my car - and now I have the words of that beatles song running round in my head lol!

Have a nice day everyone - we're having roast beef and all the trimmings for dinner, and then trying to wade though this mountain of goodies left over from Christmas.... who am I kidding? hee hee!

StarShine...waiting for Santa

Christmas 2005: Puerto Del Carmen, Lanza.

Ruben helping Mummy sprinkle the sparkly and very magic reindeer food in the garden, so that Rudolf can find his way to their house.

First use of my new stamps... and Lovin em!