wait til you see....

.......this new little girl...and her happy family :-)














But my favourite one of all.... and this IS the smallest size, like size nought....
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LOL!!!....Now, how cute is that??? Don't tell me you're not smiling! I told you she was a dot.

The baby is born

YAY!!!!

The baby is born and it's no coincidence I'm writing in PINK!!!!

Ok, so we knew she was a girl - well the doctor said it was going to be a girl, but you can never be sure til you see, can you? :-)

Anyway, of course I haven't seen... but i've heard her voice! Yep! Erks was holding her and said "say hello to nannie", and i heard her little wimper and then she started to cry and I heard her good and proper - and trust me, she may be tiny, but she can yell alright! I can't wait to see her, and hold her, and fuss her.

She was born at 12.56, and is about 6lb 8oz, and they are planning to call her Jenna Leigh. There's a story here, but not for today. For another time maybe.

Hayley said she's the image of Ruben, with gorgeous skin, and not much hair - though she had a hat on so she can't tell really, and she has teeny little dainty blue feet! Crikey, hope she has some booties on now :-)

I will post pics as soon as I have them - Mum and babe are in observation for 2 hrs, and after that she can keep the baby with her in her room - My, how things have changed in 3 years ;-) . No photo's allowed yet, as another Mum is in there too, but I expect i'll have plenty by tonight.

Such a relief that baby is here and they are both ok after everything.

My girlie is absolutely fine apparently, and according to Hayley and Erkin, looks like she's just about to go out for dinner.

How Jazz is that! ;-) Lol!



FIRST PIC EMAILED FROM HER DADDY'S PHONE!!!

keeping my mind occupied...

Ok, nothing to report on Jazz. Still at the hospital, and we're hoping maybe today is the day. If she were having the baby here in England it would be here already, that's for certain, but they do things differently in Spain, and even more differently in the Canaries.... :-(

I must try not to worry, but with the situation, her history with this baby, and being so far away, it's impossible not to fret.

***********

Other things.
This is my Mojoholder layout for last night:



We lifted Emily Falconbridge this week, and you can see her page and the other DT takes on the layout here

waiting and worrying.

Jazz has gone into the hospital today.
I'm worried sick. Hope I can post happy news very very soon.
Those who know me well, know why i'm so worried. Please keep us in your hearts and prayers this weekend.

jake x

No strings attached......?

.....No, quite the opposite in fact. 12 strings - as opposed to six.....

Yep. Vin has a new guitar. I know I said no more... there are 5 in the house already... plus an assortment of other stringed instruments like a mandolin and a mini harp thingy etc, but this was a bargain - and he's never had a 12 string - and he paid for most of it himself.

So, it's here :-)

His dad chipped in a third (foolishly assuming vin will now allow him to have a go... er.. I doubt it matey. Not if I know that boy!) and we went and picked it up last night.

He absolutely loves it. And it does have a very beautiful sound, and there's a lot worse he could be doing than making music, I know.

Her name (they all have names) is Frances Bean. No prizes for guessing why.... the others are called Layla (first love) Black Betty, Violet, Rubie-guitar and Terry. No idea what the mandolin is called.. er.. mandy? just a guess.. lol!

Anyway - Here they are:























He is no longer am emo kid btw... and has now morphed into total grunge a la his hero Kurt. At least those flannel shirts are cheap enough in the charity shop - when you can find one!

Rude Awakening...

Today wasn't so bad, but yesterday was awful.

For the last 12 months I've been woken with a cup of coffee and a kiss by Carlos, just before he set off for work. But yesterday he started a new job, with a much earlier start, so I had to resort to a more traditional means of waking, and let me tell you a shrieking alarm suddenly clanging in your ear is something of a rude awakening compared to what I've been used to lately.

Particularly as yesterday was about as wild a morning as you could imagine anywhere. Black thunderous sky, howling wind, torrential rain.... I couldn't see a thing out of the window as the rain overflowed the guttering and came across my windows like a waterfall.

Later Jazz text me from Lanzarote: "Mum! Are you guys ok? I saw tornadoes hit Luton on Sky News!!"

LOL!

First i'd heard of it :-D Took my dd, all those miles away to let me know! But no, we were fine. Slightly damp but fine.

Today's weather is sunny with a blue sky... only in Britain, eh?

Using up scraps

I don't know about you, but I can't throw stuff away.

Especially not scrapping bits... scraps of paper... ribbon ends... BG paper... :-)

You never know when you might need them.

So, sorting through some plastic drawers earlier, I spotted a pile of Hang 10 scraps, and thought I'd put a little mini book together to make use of some of the millions of holiday snaps I took which will probably never make it onto a page. I cannibalised a 10 pence carboot sale notebook, which I bought because I liked the see through covers. I actually considered making a transparent book with it, but that would have defeated the object of using up my BG scraps! lol!

(So, I'm still to make my see through book.... one day Lemon. One day.)

Anyway, this lil book cost absolutely nothing to make, because everything used is an oddment left over from other stuff, and took no time to make either - so I feel all virtuous tonight, and happy I had a go.
I even managed to get all the piccies together nicely without tearing my hair out.. don't ask why or how, but something must have finally clicked. There is hope for me yet, perhaps :-)

Book dimensions - 4" x 4".

a load of hot air

Andy Harrison, easyJet's chief executive, said the other day: "Air passenger duty has got to be scrapped. If there is going to be an environmental tax it has to be an intelligent one." The suggestion being that it's the aircraft making emissions... not the passengers Hmmm..... he's clearly never travelled with my boys, who are not too shy about sharing a few emissions of their own with their fellow passengers...! phewie! ;-)

Happy Birthday to Donzo for Thursday. My big girl, my firstborn, had us all round the other night to celebrate with drinks, pizza, snacks and some gorgeous rhubarb and apple crumble, which I greedily had with ice cream, cream AND custard!! But that was ok, coz so so did Great-Grandma, and if it's good enough for her... well it's good enough for me too! The pud was a real family affair with Rhubarb from PeePee's garden and apples from ours. Donz supplied the crumble top :-) and we all scoffed the lot! Naughty naughty!

You can keep your hat on....

This weeks Mojoholder layout was made a bit tongue in cheek. Recently I was talking to a friend on Msn, and at the same time, sending Jazz our holiday photos to look at.

I was telling Jazz how hot it had been walking round the hippy market at Punta Arabi, and how I'd spotted this fab cowboy hat and talked Carlos into treating me, even tho it was loadsa dosh ;-) so I uploaded a snap of me on the balcony wearing the new headgear, so she could see if she liked it... Only I sent it to Irene and not Jazz! Got my windows mixed up, didn't I..? And don't tell me you've never done that. Lol!

Anyway... Irene, oblivious to the other convo going on, was like "Whaaa??? Good God girl! Have you got any clothes on??? You look like you're stripping off!!"

Pmsl.. and yeah, I guess it does a bit :-D

Might not sound funny now, but well, it cracked me up... and jazz and irene, too.

So obviously the title for this week's scraplift layout came easy...
You can keep your hat on!



You can see the other DT girlies fabulous scraplifted layouts on the page by Kimmy here Plus a brilliant sketch by Sarah, to help you put your own version together in a snap. Don't forget to share your work with us by putting a link in the comments section as we love to see your takes too, and there's a chance to win the monthly RAK.

Another year rolls by....

On All About Eve, our theme was a glimpse of the past or future, and this set me reminiscing; particularly as this week, yesterday in fact, marked the 10th anniversary of the day I kissed my little Ma goodbye for the very last time. On that day, it had been barely 6 months since I'd also sat with my sister and watched her slipping away from us too.... I was still reeling, in shock, and no way prepared to lose my darling Mum too. But that's the way it was, and I did. Both lost to the same disease. But somehow I managed to get by, thinking of them everyday...until today. Because you never stop thinking of them and yearning for them, as anyone who has suffered like me will tell you.


I almost did a layout using a picture of my Mum, and me, Sanna and Jen Jen, laughing at a party, a rare photo of the Walker women together...though by no means a rare event. A glimpse of the past... us in pleats of laughter (God only knows what at, coz I don't remember now) all dressed in daft eighties clothes - suits with big padded shoulders... big hair... but in the end I just couldn't do it. Although I fixed the picture up as best I could in PSE, and while i'm no expert and it's still a poor pic, i'm glad I did it.. maybe one day i'll scrap it after all.


In the end I blew up a little photo booth snap, taken on one of my many excursions to London when I was a teen. Actually, I was 16 here, and a proper poser. All my gear had to be bought in London, and I'd go up on a cheap day return, and come home laden with bags, from Carnaby st, Oxford st, South Molton st, Camden Lock, Portobello rd, the King's rd... sporting such names as Naff Naff, Biba, Topshop and Chelsea Girl.. those were the days. Shopping was EVERYTHING! Only eclipsed by going up the Cali that night and showing off my new clothes/shoes/bag/make-up, and dancing the night away with a gang of mates.


Couldn't post this yesterday when the challenge went up, as I just didn't feel like it. No matter how many years roll by it still hits me just the same.


RIP my best girls. Love you still, Mosh and JJ.
jk xx

Major Mojo

What you reckon Woody... think anyone'll notice the Chicken Pops?

http://www.mojoholder.typepad.com/

Oh, go on...Get over there and see for yourself...

Week after week, my awesome teamies truly amaze me - they do. And that's a fact.
Usually, I walk off the blog on a Friday night wondering how I even hold my place, but somehow I seem to get away with it, so do check us out.

This week we lifted a piece of Kimber McGray's gorgeous work, and my lift is below. I wasn't too happy with the way it scanned tbh - it's actually much nicer irl, as anyone who has these papers will know...

...But, the layout does tell a tale, and I guess it's safe to say I'm known as a scrapper who uses my medium to document our life stories, as opposed to someone who does wonderfully glorious pages about the bug they picked off their boot today, or the incredible flower they spotted on their way to work . So as far as I'm concerned, the boy's childhood illness is noted, and really... are his grandkids honestly gonna worry if the paper was slightly off colour for the photo's??

I'll just have to hope not, is all I can say. :-)

Well, we did it.

Euro 2008 qualifier:
(Kept up the standard and beat the opposition, that is!)

England played fantastically well and walked away with a well deserved 3-0 win over Russia. Michael was man of the match and so nearly had a hat trick too - man, that boy's on fire!

But hey,.... Go Rio - Lol! Brilliant goal, even if his shimmy was off... pmsl...!

Woo Hoo!!! I cannot tell you how happy I am!

Congratulations also to Scotland, who finished 1-0 up on France, and commiserations to N. Ireland who lost tonight.

not another green layout!!

I do not know why this is happening!!! Eeek!!

I just seem to be stuck in green mode lately... lol :-)
Time to hunt some girlie pics out I think!

My boys messing about doing their usual swimming pool shark attack game. I could watch them playing together for hours :-)

I just hope they'll always be the great friends they are today.

Not all bad

If you're someone who's spent any amount of time around the world of scrapbooking, you might be forgiven for thinking that sometimes it can be a pretty prickly place. There are frequent spats, accusations, and trampled feelings. Some scrappers appear so ambitious as to show no regard whatsoever for their fellow artists, and ruthless is a word I've heard in connection with this hobby all too often...

....And all of this in a pastime based around family memories, paper and glue!

But you know, it's not all bad.

Along with the me me me types you also come across some totally selfless people in scrapland. Girls who never push themselves forward, never seek the limelight and never ever promote themselves at the expense of others. They're kind, helpful and sharing. But you rarely hear about it - because that's just the way they like it. Any gestures made are private and not blogged about and flogged to death to aquire hits, or kudos or whatever.

I experienced this for myself this week - and from someone who has not always been treated very kindly by the self appointed big guns in scrapping.

I know she wouldn't want me to make a lot of this so I won't. But let me say one thing: I 'm very humbled and grateful for her kindness. TBH, I'm amazed. Why on earth I deserve it I don't know, but I guess I'm just lucky in that I have some lovely friends. Good people. Nice people to be around. And while it's true that I haven't got much else - that in itself makes me better off than many.

Sponsors are coming in for All About Eve!! We've been contacted by several companies wishing to offer sponsorship - which is great news for you guys taking part in the challenges! Not only can you join the fun group of girlies who regularly play along, but you get the chance to be picked as guest designers - AND/OR possibly win some awesome stash or scrummy kit!

This week there's a fantastic kit up for grabs from :
Amber's ScrappingEdge

But you know what they say, don't you? You gotta be in it, to win it ;-)

Go check it out!


WE WON!!!
YEAH!! 3-0!!

Let's just hope we can do it again on Wednesday :-)

Come on the boys......!!!

Me & Carlo's fave song of the moment

Loving this SO much right now



Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's

Cool

Here's my layout from Mojoholder this week. I love being on this DT. The girls are fantastic - so very talented, and a great bunch to chat with on our lil forum.The one thing I do find hard to understand, is why more peeps don't take the challenges with us. We lift some top designers, and try to go for a wide range of styles, yet we don't always get a whole lot of of entries - maybe people should take another look? We have a monthly rak for our faves too.. so c'mon guys, give us a whirl!

COOL WALL


These photo's make me smile... we'd just walked miles and miles round and round, and up and up, to the top of the d'Alt Vila in Ibiza Town. The cathedral at the top was a wonderful reward... cool and beautiful, but after we'd looked around we set off back down to the bottom. The dazzling sun hit us again the second we stepped out of the door, and we again regretted having brought no water. It had been a huge trek up in such fierce heat, and forgetting the water bottles, a terrible mistake. So we set off, helping an elderly lady whose shoes were slipping on the ancient flagsones worn shiny from hundreds of years of sandalled feet... we couldn't go fast, because the poor woman was terrified of slipping over and Carl had to literally walk in front of her with her hands on his back :-) He's such a gent, but sometimes I wish he'd not be quite so chivalrous!

Eventually we reached a point where the floor was less slippery, and the old couple took off on their own. Rounding a corner we spotted a traditional Spanish bar tucked away in a pretty courtyard, and dived in. The proprietor was the grumpiest old man i've ever met! Shunning his offer of a table inside we opted instead to sit in the shady courtyard and pressed our backs against the cool white wall.... ah.. heaven. He got us back tho with the most innocent tasting, but devilishly potent Sangria, which he placed grumpily in front of us on the table. BOY! did it have some kick! Lol!

By the time we left he grudgingly smiled at us - I think he was amazed with our drinking prowess... I doubt anyone had ever managed a jug of the stuff before! Either that or my appalling Spanish made him laugh - heaven knows what I said when I thought I was complimenting him on his lovely garden lol!

Anyway, it was a wonderful day, a wonderful memory - and a very cool wall.

An anonymous comment on my blog...

... made me smile today :-)

Usually you see the anon, and think uh-oh.... and today was no different.... but when I read it I had to laugh, so I've put it up here in case you miss it.

It is in response to my jokey post about how hard I work being the hobby therapist at an elderly people's care home...

'lol! Mary! I know just how you feel! I spend my average day working hard too! Singing, cutting and sticking, swimming, nap time, baking, jumping, hopping, dancing, reading, laughing, rolling... the list goes on!

Man i love my boss!

Employer: Ruben George Walker Halil, Age: nearly 3 !!'

That would be my grandson she's talking about then!!!! Lol!!!!

AAE - A day in the life....

...of me.

Wow. Rivetting.

This one's gonna nail em to the floor....ain't it?

But then I started thinking about average.

Average days.

Yours... mine... and I got to thinking that even the queen must have average days sometimes... probably even an astronaught... I mean, let's face it, if you're circling the moon for 18 weeks or something, I bet even that becomes sort of average after a while, eh? Like maybe after the fourth orbit....

So. I decided to have a tongue in cheek look at my average day. And to keep it focused, I chose a working day.

A working day for me starts when I get there... and I do mean that. I have no set hours - I do as I like, when I like... And that's not easy, y'know...

But then, once i've had my first coffee, it's a whirlwind of activity... I mean, real hard slog. Bingo, Dommies, Sing-a-long's... It takes it out of you mate.. ! And then as if I haven't done enough already, I might decide to take a couple of people to the theatre, or out for a pub lunch... I tell you - it's all go. Sometimes we have crafts...and you know how challenging that can be, playing with paper and glue... and then there's the flower arranging, exotic fruit tasting, reminiscence chats, and the never ending quiz's.... it's no wonder I go home exhausted....

And there's my man, the love of my life, offering to cook and pouring me a nice glass of wine... and i know it's all been worth it. All the hard work... another difficult day over... I can kick off my shoes, and relax... well, until tomorrow....

Ahhh....another day , another dollar... eh?

All About Eve - challenge number 6. See the blog for details of our fab sponsorship prize for this challenge!

Coming soon....to a blog near you...

New All About Eve challenge coming later today girls... keep an eye on the blog ...

They said that about Me???

Found this on Emma's blog and just had to have a go....

Good to know Paris will be thinking of me... if no one else...

This is Anfield......

{and if you're not sure where that is, just ask the people of Derby County... they're not likely to ever forget :-) }

6 NIL!!!!!!!!

What a result!

Go you Reds!

Becky Flecks September Page Maps

This is the layout Becky chose to use - Gotta love those Lelli's!

WOW!!! Check this out!!!

Color Your World

How me is this....?? I just have to find time to play along with these rockin chickies!

wtg girls!

I'm expecting some great pictures to be coming my way very soon :-) Donna and Jon are taking the kids to Ireland for Jon's brother's wedding, so should have lots of gorgeous pic's of the kids in their wedding outfits, and as they're staying on the beachfront, quite a few casual ones too. The baby's an absolute poppet, and so cute with a lil dimple when she grins, that I'm going to have to take the tripod round soon and try a photo shoot with her. NOT that I'm any good - certainly no photographer, but with a subject that sweet, I have to get at least a few good shots I reckon ;-)

Plus, today Jazz and Erk are going on their last little holiday before the baby comes. Obviously, the girl can't fly any more but they're taking the boat over to Fuerteventura this morning, and as they'll have the car they can drive down to the sand dunes and spend a bit of time exploring as well as having a relax. Rubie's very excited and it's a treat for him before he starts 'big boy' school in a couple of weeks. It was his last day at nursery yesterday and Jazz cried. His teachers gave him a gift and a letter about going on with his journey now he's a 'big boy'.. bless him - he's not even three yet!

I remember the day he started... the photo's of him on the path with his big new school bag... I posted them on my blog here - just can't believe he'll be at proper school so soon.

Here's my Mojo layout from last night. The boy himself on his second birthday - and that's birthday cake on his nose, btw! Lol!!



Aplogies in Advance as the title of the layout is likely to have you singing the Kaiser Chiefs fab anthem of the same name, all day.... ( I know, coz I was singing it all night last night!) LOL!

Almost the weekend....

Well, it is for me, coz I don't do Fridays. I have done when i've had to, but for the last few years Fridays have become Mydays... my absolute fave days, when I get to stay at home and mooch and slob and do whatever I damned well please, because there's no one else around.

Obviously in school hols, Vin's here, and usually my dad will pop round for a chat and a coffee in the morning, but basically friday is a me me me day when I can shoot to Hemel to shop, slope around town doing the charity shops, scrap all day if I want, read, visit, sit in the garden or do whatever I feel like doing, and oh, how I love that.

Yes, I know I'm selfish... but there you go. Old people are.

Talking of scrapping, I never got picked for the US kit club I applied for, but got an hon ment, which I thought was quite sweet. I also did some lovely stuff which I haven't been able to show until now as it was for Becky Flecks page maps, and I was dead chuffed tonight to see that my LO made the front page of the newsletter - Thanks Becky, it was a pleasure to help out there :-)

It was quite funny actually, coz I made the LO no trouble from the gorge sketch Becky sent me, but then got into terrible trouble trying to scan it... In fact, I got so frustrated, that I just started all over again and made another LO, which scanned like a dream - as did the first as soon as i'd managed the second! So in the end I just sent both - thought I'd let Becky have the headache of choosing which one to use - and it's a nice surprise to see it there now, as at the time she had no idea which one she'd put up.

Here's the other one - the one she didn't use.

You can see the one she did use by clicking here or going to Page Maps

I so love this pic of my boy emerging from the sea - what a babe (magnet) he's turning out to be... ;-)

Wishing the Fleck family a super chilled out holiday. Nothing like getting away from it all, is there ?

Bad bad blogger

I know, I know ... I've been a lazy mare again.

Actually, not lazy, just busy, and when not busy, simply enjoying the sunshine, as you do, when the chance comes round.

This weekend we decorated Vinnie's room and built his new furniture. Tonight I finished painting and put up some voile panels at the window, and now it's almost done. He's still deciding if he wants blinds or curtains, but at least he has something up so it feels more cosy - not as open and cold.

I haven't really had time to get on here and update, but now the work's done, i'll hopefully catch up again.

On Mojoholders last week we lifted a page by Elsie, and here's my interpretation:

And on AAE we did Reincarnation... which for some reason doesn't seem to be as popular as scrapping yer bum - but you know we did say not all the challenges would be easy.... so don't say you weren't warned... lol!

Here's mine:


I wrote about my love of the Sea, and how I've always imagined I was once connected with it in some way... maybe as a sailor, or fisherman... or who knows... perhaps even a pirate? :-)

Haven't got much else to say for now. Got some scrapping to do, and I'm reading the book that's supposed to save my life.. not sure about that, but it has made me smile a bit, so it's a start I guess.

Be back when less busy and more relaxed.

jk x

Class page to download

See here on Mojoholder for a gorgeous downloadable class page from Kylie Tout.
Come play along!

Catwalk Queen! Go me! Lol!

I just got told by a teamie tonight that I made the catwalk on Sistv - hey! go me!

Really, what a fab surprise :-) I've been working all day... got home real late as I had a meeting... Ate my LUNCH at 9.45pm (wilted salad... yuck) chatted to a mate for a bit and then logged on for a quick surf and scan of my mb's... Then I spy a toot for me - and there it is - the news. Really chuffed!

Might not be a big deal for everyone but it sure made my day, I tell ya.

Yesterday was a crummy day, coz the car cost me a load of money I don't have. I've recently noticed a prob with the handbrake which I intended to get fixed when I get paid in a couple of weeks... oh, and the electrics have been a bit dodgy - but I've tried to ignore that, at least I did until Saturday night, when I was driving home and realised that everytime I signalled left, my lights went out!

Honestly! Right out!

Obviously quite funny, as the kids are convinced that regardless of whether I'm on foot or in a car I only ever turn left, thereby spending my whole life going round and round in ever decreasing circles (and it's not far from the truth, I do seem a bit fixated on left turns... Come out of Next, turn left... come out of Henney's turn left.. there's whole avenues of MK shopping mall I've never seen because I never get that far....!)

Anyway - obviously this problem needs fixing, so off I trot to the Auto Electrician/Garage and explain my problems. "Leave it with us" they said, and so I did, and awaited their call. Fortunately for me, the garage is owned by a friend of a friend or God knows how much it would have been.... Seems I was losing brake fluid... Eeek! And cylenders or something had to be replaced, fluid topped up and I needed a whole new switch which was £79.80 + vat... what is it made of... Gold?? Plus labour etc and I get a bill for almost £180 quid. Great. Like I could afford that.

On a brighter note, I can now turn left to my hearts content without becoming invisible to oncoming traffic. Gotta be worth the money.

Eh?

OK!!! We have a new challenge for ya!

Number five is up!

Please put your backsides away... they are no longer required :-) We have a new challenge going on, so go and check it out here: All About Eve.

Don't forget to provide a link to your work or email us the layout so we can add you to our readers gallery. We are still scouting for talent for GDT spots!

See ya there!

tut tut tut....

We was robbed... just ask Colleen....

....who thinks Chelsea are travelling wth their own Ref's now.

Shocking.

Need more time!

Crikey, the weeks fly by, don't they?

Saturday again, and whereas I used to post almost daily on here - sometimes more than once a day even, now I seem to have no time at all, yet not much has changed. Hmmm.... have to think about that one I guess, and see what's going on. I would say it's just summer... but come on...... hardly, is it?Lol!

Donna set off yesterday with her mates for V festival, and was stuck in traffic for many many hours, arriving late They've taken camping stuff, enthusiastic smiles and wellies... heaven help them.

The kids are going to see High School Musical tonight. Vin has (reluctantly) agreed to go with Jon to help. He is not expecting to enjoy it. I wonder why ever not ;-)

Mojoholders went up last night and this weeks layouts are absolutely gorgeous - our best week ever I think! We also have a new addition to the DT - Sandie - who's work is really lovely, and we're all very glad to have her accept our offer of becoming part of the team. We have some new ideas too and will be letting you know about those once we have stuff sorted out.

I ordered my holiday snaps last night from Snapfish (been too busy and too skint to do it before) but had to get a move on as they have a 25% off offer on til the 31st, and I had quite a big order. I still like 7x5, although I realise the trend has swung back to smaller photos. I haven't followed trends for years tho, so I get what I like - but don't they cost!

I've done a couple of layouts I can't share yet, and I absolutely love them both, and I have some stuff to do today which I may enter into something later. More news on that if I get anywhere ;-) Lol!

Other than that, not much going on, so I'll be back when I have more to report.

WHOOPS!!!!! Nearly forgot! Been trying desperately to catch up and have only managed to get to a few blogs I usually read, but have had no time to visit recently. Just popped onto kelly's to find she's tagged me as a Rocking Girl Blogger... WooHoo!! That I am kelly, girl. That I am ;-) lol.



So thanks me darling - I'll add the button and pop back later with my own rockin girlies - howzat?

jk xx

It's my girlie's birthday!

It's my baby girl's birthday.

Not that she's a baby any more of course - in fact she's about to have a baby of her own, but she's my youngest girl - the youngest of three - so in that respect, she'll always be my baby I guess.

She tells me she's had a lovely day, and I'm glad. It's not much fun being very pregnant on your birthday, is it? I was just a month away from my due date with my second baby on my 21st, so I know it's not that great....But she's been spoilt and had a fuss made of her,and she's content now, having had lots of pressies this morning, breakfast out with Erk and big sister Hayley - and balloons and cake and everything all before 10 am! They've been swimming, to the beach, lunched, visited Erks Mum and Dad and sisters; and been showered with more goodies from friends and family - and now they're home and she's relaxing with Ruben and meemee, while Erkin cooks them a romantic 3 course dinner.

A charmed life indeed, eh!

So,here she is:

Happy Birthday Jazzabelle!


Enjoy the rest of your day darling!
Birthday hugs
ma xxxx

Challenge number 4

Ok... ok. I admit it.

I guess it was my idea lol!
(But they didn't need much persuading!)


I know some of you are wondering... and I honestly can't say how or why it came about in the first place, but I do remember it seemed awfully funny to us at the time, and we had such a laugh thinking up crazy ideas round the theme... and even when someone said "yeah, but we're not really gonna do it though.. are we?" I just knew we had to!!!

Women are obsessed with their bums!!! Too big, too small, too flat, too round... Wobbly, bony, dimply or just plain peachy.... it might not be all that... BUTT - it's yours!

So here's your chance to show off your sense of humour - a reason to let your rear end shine.


Just grab your camera, rope in a mate, partner, or kid.... have a giggle and put the spotlight on your derriere - go on. When will you get an opportunity like this again.... :-D


We can't wait to see the response to this one!!!

catch up time....

like I said, after the holiday there's a fair bit of catching up to do, so i'll just try and get back on track with some bits i've done and fill in with snippets of news as I go along.

I love this pic of me and the boy on the fantastic lawn chairs one of the beach bars had outside their place. We were only steps from the sand here, and it was wonderful to just kick your flip flops off and relax sipping sangria, while listening to the waves lapping on the shore so close by...

it's maybe not so hard to understand why we felt we could have stayed forever..... ahh well, all good things come to an end, as they say ;-)

I did my mojoholder layouts before I went and the girls uploaded them along with their own at the relevant times. Our new DT is in place now, and their work is really something else - better pop over for a peep if you haven't already, as it's all looking pretty damned good from where I'm sitting :-) Way to go there, ladeeez!

Here's my two:

Rubie being the sausage that he is in our garden last time they were home....

And me and fandango doing what we do best... making an absolute fool of ourselves - all in the name of fun ;-)

Now, these two I did for Creative World, to illustrate a li'l tutorial I knocked up for them a couple of weeks ago. The entire thing seems a bit jinxed, coz it was supposed to have gone up before it did, but the flipping floods put paid to that - a long story, and not mine to tell, so suffice to say I was simply scuppered, and that's about all you can say that! Lol!

Cheapie Poundland Canvas


Layout featuring our Isabella, who is a girl like no other!

The tutorial did go up - while I was away - but for some reason, the artwork never went with it, and I've not got round to hassling anyone to find out why, lol.. i know, I know, I am just so lazy... but as it didn't get used, I'm sure the girls won't mind me putting it up here and linking back instead. So if anyone wants to see about making these transparent letters - here you go: The so easy tutorial is here: at Creative World.

Thanks girls for letting me join you on site - it was great fun :-)

Right! I have a couple of things in the pipeline to get sorted, so better go and get on as I'm all behind again, (no pun intended there... lol!) but be sure to check out our cheeky All About Eve Challenge which went live tonight.....

Ah...yessssssss..... I see you baby!

We're home!!

We're home... Fat, brown and knackered......

But God, I love Ibiza :-) Never again will I mock people who go there.... Really - there's a lot more to this gorgeous lil island than San Antoni and the club scene. It's lovely, and we had a wonderful, chilled out, laid back holiday. I was so sad to leave yesterday, and think I just may have to go back - if only to pick up the little bit of my heart I left there this time.

No time to blog now although I do have a mess of catching up to do. Maybe later, when the sun's gone down.

Challenge #3 is live!!

Wow.. I deliberately didn't look at any of the Eve's layouts this time, so i've just been over for a peek now and it's blown me away. I love my teamies - love everything they do :-) And Annie's pulled a corker out as our guest - thank you darl!

If you fancy a challenge or just wanna eye up a bit of creativity to get your mojo flowing, pop over and see what you think - better still come join us! You have until aug 4th to get your work in.. are you going to be one of our favourites this round?

All About Eve - all about you.

Challenge #3 - My escape.

Anyone got a minute they can spare... if I get enough, it'll give me an hour :-)

Lots of things:

First - the weather scuppered something cool for me.

Nice. And up to now I wasn't even taking it personally....

...but due to the vile conditions, someone dear went through unimaginable trauma... which in a strange way managed to reflect on me! It's funny how everything that happens has a repercussion for so many others - even if in a minor way. Like ripples on a pond I guess....

wow - how profound, and for so early on a monday morning.... lol!

Seriously, I'm just so glad that the lovely lady involved is ok, her family is ok, and I hope the event doesn't leave too many horrible scary memories in times to come.

As for my involvement - pah! It's as of nothing.

I'm still running about like a headless chicken at the moment - even though I'm supposed to be doing nothing. The hand however is healing nicely without the prescribed rest, so with a pinch of luck, I might just meet my commitments, get everything else done, sort my Dad's hospital stay out/transport problems out, get packed, and still actually get to the airport on time next weekend.
:-)

Scrapnews - at MOJO we spent a few hours trawling galleries and poring over layouts, and finally settled on 7 people to add to the DT! yes... seven. Lol!! We actually wanted four - but they were all just TOO good! So, seven it is, but as there's only four of us now, this'll round it out nicely, and take the pressure off if anyone needs a week's break or goes on holiday or whatever. Check the blog for the list of names... followers of the challenges are going to be in for such a treat in the coming weeks - we have star quality designers on this team. The work's going to be amazing!

At Eve, we have picked some favourites from the Age challenge, and they are now up on the blog -These you must see! Incredible work came in - you guys are awesome, and we thank you so much for taking part and making it all so rewarding for us. As a blog, we're not trying to set the world on fire... we have fun, chat a lot, and throw out a challenge once a fortnight. If no one played, we'd still be having the crack with it - but the response was out of this world, and we thank you talented souls for taking the time to share your ideas and creations with us - WTG girls!

how many days...?

Well, quite a few, actually.... Since I last blogged, that is. Not like me really, but I've had a lot going on and haven't had the time to get on here and update.

So what's new... well, I took my dad for his pre-ops last tuesday. Only sat around the L&D for about 5 hrs, so not bad I spose, but it's done now, and his op is next week, all being well.

I've been very busy making layouts and stuff - so busy that I actually managed to knacker my hand trying to do too much at once, and i'm paying for it now with an extremely poor paw. Had to go to the doc's yesterday when my right hand (yep, I'm right handed...) blew up like a balloon and I was in so much pain around my thumb and wrist area that I wanted to cry. Seems I have acute extensior tendonitis - which is a friggin sore hand to me and you. Thing is - I even know how I did it. I was cutting with blade and mat... blunt blade, thin paper, so pressing very very hard to avoid tears... between gripping tight and pressing down, i've aggravated the tendon and boy - does it kill. Got some very good tablets tho and anti-imflammatory/painkilling gel and with some rest the doc reckons it will be alright. He did say tho - NO SCRAPPING!!!

The man jests..... surely?

This is this weeks mojoholder layout - and it was was done before the injury - honest:

I also have some more stuff which I think will be on view tomorrow... :-) which I did for some very talented friends of mine :-D and you can see that on a fabby inspiration blog, and no, I have no sneakies.... bad enough typing with my left hand only, without trying to use the scanner or camera single mitted as well!

Mojoholders will be announcing our new DT teamies within the next few days - though how we're ever going to pick just one or two I do NOT know... The stuff we've had in is so gorgeous. I want you all!

And talking of entries, the work we've had in in response to our last All About Eve challenge, 'Age' has blown us away! You ladies are phenominal! Trying to choose our faves has been so hard, because the work is great and it's wonderful to see how many of you have played along considering it's only our second challenge. Thank you each and everyone of you. We've set them up in a gallery - and believe me - they are an impressive sight. Lots of ooohing and ahhing from the eve's camp this last week or so I can tell you.... lol!

Saturday... so what?

Saturday again. 2 weeks from now we'll be on hols - yippee!

Vin will be celebrating his 15th birthday... no way can my boy be that big. Oh, I know he's a lump, getting tall, growing up... but 15? Where did the time go? I remember the day he was born - course I do - there was only me and him there. Yep. Just me and my boy... all alone on the bedroom floor. And after 3 girls, it was certainly a surprise to see that this tiny new born baby in my arms was a boy. Unbelievable in fact, just like the whole thing. Giving birth alone, getting this boy... The midwife had been in twice and left me. She said I wasn't in advanced labour... oh no? Think I don't know with my fourth baby??

huh! Showed her didn't we?

Anyway. Obviously we both survived, and I made no complaint. I was just happy to have it all over with, and get on with mothering my baby.

And now here he is - a fine young man, almost grown up. And still the light of my life, even though he drives me insane being the teenager he is.... Kids! One minute they're asleep on your shoulder - the next they're taller than you, and walking out the door.

My mojoholder this week features our adorable lil Matilda. This girlie is SO cute and pretty! She has beautiful eyes, with the longest laffs... a cute lil grin, and ... dimples!!! I just LOVE dimples!

Have a great day all

jk x

Challenge #2 is live

Our 2nd challenge is up and looking good!

Lol at Maria's - that one really tickled me for some reason... just so cheeky :-) Anyway... It made me smile.

The girls have done a great job again - lots of diversity and different ideas, and we've decided that we'll be inviting some guests from the participants, so check out the challenge and get yours in - either by email or through a link in comments - and just wait for the call ;-)

Found a fab new sketch site offering monthly prizes, plus weekly inspiration - check out 'getting sketchy' here gorgeous sketches and some lovely work on show.

Must dash - I have a million crafty things to make for our work Fete on Sunday. It's going to be a great day - dedicated to Chris. We've a professional 6 piece Jazz band lined up - a Rock and Roll dance group coming in to do a show, and our own group of gospel singing carers, plus all the usual stalls and sideshow stuff - with all the proceeds are going to Chris's family for their donation to the Intensive Care Unit where Chris was nursed.

Wish us luck with the weather!

Here's my All About Eve layout - check the blog for the other Eve's interpretations: Age.

And I leave you with a few random lines from a dodgy MP3:

Thought we could live forever

But there's more to life than we'll ever know

Tell me why'd you have to leave so soon

When I've got a thousand questions to ask of you

The Jayhawks - Will I see you in heaven : Rainy Day Music

Challenge number 2!!

All about Eve unveils it's 2nd challenge tomorrow!

And my, those two weeks have flown... Personally, I've had a lot of stuff happen in that time and the most important thing - losing my friend at just 50, so suddenly and without any warning - has only endorsed my feelings about being part of this blog. It's made me realise just how important is the idea that we women, we scrappers and family book keepers, should be paying more attention to getting ourselves inside those family history books - while there's still time to do so.

Chris, my mate and colleague, was a girl who loved to take photo's. Her daughter bought her a new digi camera for Christmas and the first day back at work we both brought our new toys in to compare and admire them. I know that most of the pics she took were of her grandkids and family, because when it was her birthday party, we had a helluva time finding photo's we could use for a collage. Most of the ones eventually came from others - she had so few of her own.

I don't imagine I'm ever going to feel comfortable being on the wrong side of the lens, but I'm making an effort to accept that while I may not think I look great in pictures, or have anything interesting going on, my family probably don't feel the same.

My sister and I mourn the lack of photo's we have of our own Mum, and I'm determined to make sure my kids never end up feeling like that. So while my Eve layouts won't always be a facial portrait or posed shot, I will at least try to inject the spirit of me into my work.

As far as this week is concerned, we've had some fun with it, and we've got a fantastically talented guest joining us too, so check the blog tomorrow and please do join in if you've got time. We had some fabby links left on the blog, and received loads of lovely work by email too - we don't mind how you share with us and we love seeing your interpretations!

You can see our fave's from the last challenge up now and challenge 2 goes live tomorrow :-)

Random Lines form a dodgy MP3

Sometimes I just can't get enough of you.
Sunshine, you just blow my mind.
Gonna take it all, gonna change it all for you.
And I'm so gald that you found me,
Yeah, you made it just in time.Yeah, I'm so glad now - I'm getting delerious.

World Party - Sunshine : Bang.

Trying to get on as normal round here. It's finally stopped raining - and wow, it makes a difference to your mood. The weather's been so depressing.

We've booked a little holiday. It'll do us good to have a break, and be so nice to wake up to sunshine instead of rain - if only for a week. Under fierce opposition from Carlos, I booked Ibiza, which he claims is full of foamy clubbers intent on taking over the entire island.... I don't believe him. Sure, I know they hang out round the San An area, and maybe venture up as far as Ibiza town even, but the north's always been the home of hippies and the like - so I reckon we'll fit in perfectly.

We're staying in a tiny town where not a lot happens, but it's got a stunning beach and there's some gorgeous coastal paths that take us to nearby towns in either direction, and it's near the famous hippy market at Punta Arabi, where musicans and buskers play to the crowds who flock there from all over the island every wednesday, to check out the colourful stalls and beautiful people.

Carlo's had a bit of ribbing at work from his mates who are now calling him an 18-30 wannabe, but I think he'll love it once there, and i'm starting to pack tomorrow so there's not much to be done about it now lol!! Nothing if not impulsive once my mind's made up, that's me.

My Mojo layout for last night was a bit flung together - it was hard to relax and scrap as I just wasn't in the mood for anything after all the bad things that happened, but it turned out ok-ish I guess, given the circumstances.

At Mojo, we've decided to extend the DT deadline, as we've had a few peeps say they're away etc, and as Kelly's away herself next week, so it just makes sense to give it another few days.

So! I'f you haven't had a go yet, do check it out, it's a fun scraplift challenge each week and we're looking for more than one person.. more than two even... ;-) wink wink.....be nice to see what you come up with. Deets can be found on the blog here

At All about Eve our 2nd challenge goes up on Monday and it's a cracker. I had great fun making my offering even though I'd dreaded it initially - thanks Emine - I didn't want it, did I? lol!!

Anyway, the girls have come up with some really lovely work again so pop by next week and see if it's a challenge you fancy doing yourself.

Finished some work I did for a GD spot yesterday and got that sent off, so that's sorted now - Oh! and my stamps came.. yay! Got me some Art Warehouse Fresh decor, a wooden chandelier, and my freestyle alpha finally got here too. So will be playing later I hope.

Well, as the sun is actually attempting to peep through the clouds now I'm going to go into the garden and have a little tidy up. Might even get the lawn chairs out and follow it round all day if it looks like staying - I can't go on holiday like this - I'm so white i'm almost Lumo!

Have a great day whatever you're doing :-)

very sad day

Such a very sad day here.

My friend i've been talking about... Well, she didn't make it....

Chris slipped away late last night with all her family and loved one's around her.

I went into work this morning to be hustled into the office by the manager and housekeeper - and these girls - who are my friends, almost my family really... we sat and cried together when they told me Chris was gone.

And I'm so bloody sad now . Distraught really... bereft. I can't stop crying and f'ing everything's crap.

I sat there today and made a total friggin pigs ear of the invoices, and extra's, and the letter to the relative's about Chris, and I thought "Oh girlie, come on, you're the administrator, not me... help me here..." and it was awful. Me and Sue and Dawn - it took us three days, and we broke the PC somehow, and frigged up the printer and we bodged everything on the paperwork too - and it took us three days to create this mayhem... and Chris used to do this trouble free on her own in less than a morning... with NOTHING damaged beyond repair - even if there was a few frazzled nerves...

God, I'm so gutted. Just so sad. I miss hernow, and I don't know what the hell I'm ever going to say to her lovely family in the days to come.

And you know what? Her body was given to medical science, because that was one thing she insisted her family knew she wanted - just in case.

How very like Chris to be thinking of others, even in her last moments. Bless her heart.

Bloggin hell

What the hell is wrong with bloody blogger these last few days????

I can't post comments on blogs, I can't even read comments if there are a lot of them! On Eve's I know there are comments I haven't read, but I just keep getting the little box pop up asking if I want to view things or not.... and whatever I tick, it just keeps popping back up!! Grr! And of course when it's open you can't scroll... so I am constantly stuck at the top of the comments page!

I've tried to commenti on several blooger blogs today - is it blogger - or is it ME???

GRRR!

no time for anything....

I've been busy. Had hardly any time for anything as I've had to assume all the admin and reception duties at work following my colleague's collapse and subsequent stay in hospital.

No happy news there, i'm afraid.

She's still gravely ill and we're all feeling terribly down about it. Chris is a friend, and all we can think about is how unbelievable all this is... I keep thinking back to late last year when she had her fancy dress birthday party and all the fun we had then... coming out of the blue like this, it's shaken me to the core. Doesn't help that she's the same age as me. I'm having trouble sleeping and can't stop thinking about her and all that's happened.

Off to the cemetry tomorrow with flowers for my MUm's birthday. She always liked that she and Princess Diana shared their birthday... but we won't be having a barbeque this year. We always had a barbi for Nanny on her birthday - me, my kids and sister always barbeque wherever in the world we are... all eating under the same stars... but this year the weather is too awful. I don't know where all this rain is coming from. It's shocking.

Here's last night's mojoholder layout - better late than never I guess, eh?



This is of course, the adorable MeeMee - Jazz's cute lil chi. Gotta love that sweet face! I looove this doggie so much it's not real. For a girl who only stands barely 8 ins high she has more character than any pup I know! She was sitting on my knee and turned round to look at me - so I snapped her :-) Love this pic.

We've been getting some gorgeous work in for the DT call! I'm dreading having to choose between them when the time comes to vote. Check out the blog for details on how to enter - there's still plenty of time to have a go!

hugs
jk x