Another Double Challenge LO

Did this LO over the weekend for a Sketch Challenge on WeScrap and a Leave Your Legacy Challenge on Kewl Beans.

Papers and journalling tag are from Club Scrap; random flowers,ribbons and bling from stash; birds cut using TH/Sizzix die;bird brads from Eyelet Outlet; title is Soft Spoken from MAMBI.
Photo is of my bestest friend Pat (aka Purple Pat!)

Blog Candy Alert!

Dianne over at Crazy Craft Shed is offering some beautiful Birthday Candy.
Do visit her blog - she makes the cutest cards!

Rocking My World Friday

Another week has flashed by and it's time to reflect. It's also 04:30 and I'm typing one handed...don't think I'll be scrapping at A Maze of Memories today - supposed to be doing a class (Christmas - and no, it's not a bit early to be doing that, it's a class that was postponed because of all that snow we had in December). Don't know what I've done to set the arthritis off in my right shoulder and elbow - it's certainly not from excessive housework or ironing.

So, on to my gratefuls.

First the above mentioned craft centre where Pat and I spent last Saturday. As mentioned in my previous post we had a great day and I completed a double and a single LO. That set me off on a roll and I've crafted almost every day since...with breaks for the odd bit of cricket (come on England..trouble beating Holland?) and football (United, really, trouble beating Crawley?). Needless to say, sport is not one of my truly gratefuls this week!

 Inspiration,  from whatever source. Particularly worthy of mention...WeScrap for the challenges; A Maze of Memories (and no, I'm not on commission!) - I'm looking forward to sessions where Christina can pass on all she learnt from Sir Tim last Saturday (great photos on the website of the man himself and the canvasses we'll hopefully be trying ourselves); Mary Green for the online Collage Club which I'm totally enjoying - photos of my work for class 4 later in this post - this was a very messy one. Between that and cooking beetroot I have very colourful hands.

The beauty of reading - can you see why very little "h" and no "i" have been done this week? I finished book 8 of my vampire warriors series. These books just keep getting better and better..roll on book 9.
I'm now reading (on Kindle) "Heat Wave" by Richard Castle. Mmm, how to describe this? A bright idea? A marketing ploy?
For those who don't know..Richard Castle is the main character in the TV series "Castle" (played by Nathan Fillian) and "Heat Wave" is the novel he's written, inspired by the police detective he's shadowing (in the series). Confused? All I can say is..I don't know who wrote it but it's a good read.

Signs that Spring is approaching. More crocuses (croci?) have appeared in the garden and some mini daffodils are almost ready to bloom, having survived the digging and burying of hide chews (they really are disgusting when dug up days or even weeks later!). The birds are tweeting again when Max has his walks and  are nest building in the Russian vine. We even saw the sun yesterday.

Comfort food. Mashed potato and treacle tart, but obviously not at the same time.

And finally, the usual suspects amongst family and friends. Love you all.

Now for the promised collage work. This was all about blended backgrounds using torn, vintage paper and gesso. The white of the gesso contrasts beautifully with the red of the beetroot on my hands. At least they're the right team colours!

The photos are of my maternal grandparents with my Mum (the baby) and Auntie Jean in photo one c.1932 and someone I think was called Isabel in photo two. I'll have to check that last bit with Jean.
I scanned the original photos as they are fairly small but typical of the period.

I hope all my fellow rockettes and crafters have had a good week.
Hugs xx

A Crafty Tuesday Update.

Well, it would appear I'm on a roll.
Pat and I had a fabulous day cropping on Saturday - the centre was very quiet so we could all chat to each other and admire each other's work. I completed a double LO for myself and a single LO for my brother.

I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures for this one - the photos I used weren't very good but I really wanted to scrap them as they concern the last meaningful conversation I had with my Dad.
We were talking about my cousin Jean and her wedding. I had vague memories of going to it but Dad was adamant I'd been a bridesmaid. Sure enough, there in the photo box was the proof....I really don't remember this at all. Sign of old age, dementia?
I used a Creative Imaginations kit bought from QVC Last Clicks and the free stamp from this month's Craft Stamper.

This one is for my brother. It's the Presentation of the League Trophy (N.Yorks/SW Durham League) to Bishop Auckland Cricket Club in 1966. My Dad was club secretary at the time and he's on the left of the photo. The trophy was presented by Brian Close (on the right of the photo). At the time he was Captain of Yorkshire and England. Tucked in behind the photo is a programme from the evening signed to Richard (my bro) by Brian Close.

These LOs were made just for the pleasure of scrapping but since then I've done some more challenge LOs.

I made this one yesterday for a Sketch challenge on WeScrap using Basic Grey "Max and Whiskers" papers etc. This is Max on Christmas Day wearing his Christmas bandanna from his stocking (yes, I know I spoil him but we all have stockings - when the rabbits were alive, they had them too).

 Today I made this LO for a Page Maps/Basic Grey challenge. I used Basic Grey "Curio" papers, journalling tag,brad,border,alpha and pops. The large roses and small butterflies were cut from the packaging. The photo is of my b'day flowers from some very good online crafty friends. The journalling is about how I felt when I received them.


Needless to say I've had to forego the pleasures of the "h" and "i" words to do all this crafting - am I upset? What do you think?lol
Hugs xx

Rocking My World Friday (with some added crafting)

Wow! Friday again. At the rate this year is flashing by it should soon be Spring - we have 1 blue crocus and 2 snowdrops in the garden. There should be lots more but a certain someone has a habit of digging holes and burying stuff in them.

So... my gratefuls for this week:

Music which has kept me fairly happy this week. This week I have been mainly listening to Classic Soul Anthems - another Christmas present from DS - good choice on his part as it wasn't on my wish list - thanks N. There are three CDs and they cover the  60's, 70's and 80's. The 70's is a particular favourite as those were my Uni/disco years. I did get to do my Diana Ross and the Supremes Impression (Stop! In the Name of Love) when I had the 60's playing - Max was not impressed and retired to bed - not his mind, ours.

Reading (as always)...I've got 4 books on the go in an effort to not finish the Black Dagger Brotherhood too quickly. I'm on book 8 and save it for when I'm soaking in the bath. Good news on that front....book 9 is published on 31st March!! Yay! As a stopgap I've bought the same author's Fallen Angel books for my Kindle - that is my downstairs reading for little breaks during the day/evening. I have 63 books on my Kindle now and have archived almost as many. I downloaded lots of the free/under £1 classics in an effort to read some I've never read before and to re-read some childhood favourites. I still enjoy my trashy novels but am being more "discerning" - I always check the size of the download as lots of them aren't novels but novellas - hence the cheapness I suppose. In bed I'm reading "Encore Valentine" by Adriana Trigiani (that will be heading to the NE and my SIL soon) and a French novel I picked up in Le Touquet.

Crafting. I've managed 2 LOs and a card this week and will be spending tomorrow at an all day crop at A Maze of Memories (wish I was with Christina, the owner, though - she's going to be at  a retailer event with Sir Tim). Sighs of envy.

My boys - all three of them for being loving and thoughtful this week. Max has just given me a wonderful hug even though I locked him in the bedroom so I could vaccuum - he barks non-stop and tries to bite the hoover if he's in the room.

And, as always, friends for making me laugh (mainly on Facebook), for inspiring me through their blogs (and making me laugh too Joanna!!) and simply for popping round for coffee and swapping scrap goodies.

Weds. was not such a good day as  it would have been Dad's 85th birthday. I found comfort in doing a LO of him as a child.

Earlier in the week I did a LO for a Leave Your Legacy challenge. Sue posed 10 questions to be answered by you and your OH  (like Mr & Mrs)to see how well he knows you. David managed 7/10 - he failed on my ideal job, what I thought my best feature is and my favourite colour - in his defence we have only been married for  29 years. lol

I wanted to have a wedding photo and a more recent one of the two of us but we don't have any - it's always one or the other of us behind the camera.

Hope you've all had a good week and have an even better weekend.
Hugs xx

Happy Valentine's Day (and some crafty thanks!)

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

I've just been shopping for our "romantic" meal - £15 courtesy of Waitrose. Since the £15 includes a bottle of Prosecco (£8.99) and steak (£6.99) I think that's great value - means our garlic & rosemary roast potatoes, mixed veg and chocolate souffle were free. Now if only the cooking fairy would visit to make it!lol

Viewing tonight will be the very unromantic "Reds" - well David did sit through "Valentine's Day" last night so I can't really complain. That was better than I thought it would be and it had some nice eye candy in the shape of Taylor Lautner  and Patrick Dempsey (even if he was a love rat!).

Now for my crafty thanks.
First up is Valerie who had some free downloads on her blog this weekend.

I used one of them for the background of the first exercise in my Collage Course class 3.
The butterflies are vintage German scraps and the apple blossom was cut from an old book on British trees.
Thanks Valerie!

Next up is Joanna (aka Fiddlesnips) who kindly sent me some ephemera last week. I used a page from an old German book and an old German map for the background on the second exercise.

I fell in love with "Little Snowshoes" when I saw the picture in "Home Words" 1883/84 and I knew I just had to use it.  Thanks for providing the background papers Joanna!

I inherited a pile of these "Home Words" books from Dad. Most are in good condition (despite their age) and David didn't want me to cut them up. This volume is falling apart so I didn't feel too guilty!lol
 I can understand why he didn't want me to use them as they do make fascinating reading. From what I can gather they were published all over the country, so much of the material in them would be the same. The differences would be articles written by local clergy and the "hatched,matched and dispatched" lists for local churches.  The list of burials shows just how much life has improved - it's heartbreaking to see babies and young children listed. Also upsetting are the people whose address was simply "Workhouse".

So this week my first grateful will be that we aren't living in the 19th century with its' poverty and high infant mortality.

Hope you're all having a great Valentine's Day.
Hugs xx

Rocking My World Friday

Friday again and I don't seem to have achieved much this week..oh well, there's always next week as I don't think the housework fairy will visit and deprive me of the "pleasure" of dusting etc.

So what are my gratefuls this week?

Firstly, laughter. My word for the year is "laugh" as I did precious little laughing last year with one thing and another.
So who's made me laugh this week?
Lee Mack and the cast of "Not Going Out" last night. I'm still giggling at the thought of Bobby Ball as a lap dancer - he was brilliant and I just love Lee Mack's one liners. Had me in stitches.

"Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" on Sky Movies Premier last Friday. I don't know if it was meant to be funny but the  script was very tongue in cheek. Add to this some great music, Sean Bean as Zeus, Pierce Brosnan as a Centaur, Steve Coogan as Hades and Uma Thurman as Medusa and it was a great night in. We only watched 'cos we couldn't find anything else - very pleased we did.

OH this afternoon - he wanted to commission a card (for the grand sum of £2.50). The card in question was a Valentine's card that he could give to me - he'd even let me choose the wording! ROFL. Turned it down.

Other gratefuls: the joy of reading.
 I'm now on book 7 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and am having problems switching back to reality when I stop. I've now decided on more actors to be Vampire Warriors...Ian Somehalder from Vampire Diaries, Kellen Lutz from Twilight and "Jasper" from Twilight (sorry can't remember the actor's name). Why no RPattz I hear you ask? Well.....unlike in Twilight these vampires are "built", with voracious appetites so unless he "bulks up"..he don't fit the profile.

OH who has had a days holiday today. We pottered around town this afternoon with Max and ended up at Costa Coffee. They have tables outside under an awning so we could have Max with us (and have a ciggie but that's naughty so we won't mention it!). Cappucino and cup cakes - mmm!

And finally ...friends who have phoned, sent cards, sent ephemera and generally cosseted me this week. Thanks to you all.
Hugs. xx

Midweek Update

And still the flu lingers...
I actually felt a lot better on Monday - so, of course I overdid things (extra long walk with Max etc). Felt rough yesterday and today (it being "nauseous Weds"...).
However, enough doom and gloom!

I've kept myself occupied while lying in bed/on the sofa by reading and more reading. I've now started Book 7 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Wish I didn't read so fast..may well be a Twilight job i.e start reading them all again when I finish book 8.
I've now started casting the film in my mind, should it ever be made. So far I've only come up with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) from Twilight as one of the vampire warriors. But I'll keep trying!

I've also managed a little light crafting.
Last night I did another double page for my Collage Course:

The background was provided as part of the Collage Coterie course that I started last year (didn't finish as it was when Dad was ill), the girl was a free download from Dezinaworld and the flowers were fussy cut from German scraps. The title came from a 1940's book that I picked up on ebay.

This afternoon I turned my Valentine tag into a card for David:

Cream and black cardstock from stash, paper - Little Yellow Bicycle "Love Letters", ribbon from Angel Crafts.
I can show it as he doesn't read my Blog - he's not even on Facebook!

Hope you're all having a good week and thanks for stopping by.
Hugs xx

Rocking My World Friday

It's Friday again - but only just! As I couldn't sleep I thought I'd make an early start on my gratefuls for the week....

First this week is Virginia (the originator of Rocking Your World Friday) for recommending "The Black Dagger Brotherhood" books by J.R. Ward. Amazon supplied them (not on Kindle alas) and I am loving them. Twilight for grown-ups! I've finished book 1 and am half way through book 2. They will be going up to Scotland next if Gill wants to read them - one by one though as there are 8 of them!

Next is my DS and his Christmas presents to me. I spent a lovely Weds. evening playing with tags, listening to Take That and MoS Electronic 80's - both CDs were from him even though he finds my taste in music appalling - thanks Nick!

Mary Green deserves a mention too for the Collage Course I'm doing - thoroughly enjoying it and I'm able to use some of the old books I rescued from Dad's house (along with old sheet music).

This was for the second class which was all about faces. I used pages from The Strand Musical Magazine Feb 2nd 1895. I'd love to know which member of Dad's family was musical - it wasn't him. The course has also given me the excuse of searching for old books on ebay - cheap ones though and the tattier the better so I don't feel bad about cutting them up. Must visit some charity shops too - as recommended by Joanna (aka Fiddlesnips).

As usual I'm grateful for my OH who puts up with my crafting (with only the occasional moan about the mess). I missed him on Weds. as he stayed overnight in Bolton. The hotel was wasted on him - it's next to the Reebok and the Bolton players were there before the game against Wigan - that's much more my scene than his! Plus I'd quite like a night away in a hotel - although I'd then miss Max.

This week's recipe to try is a Heston Blumenthal one -Pea and Ham soup - I'll let you know what it's like next week along with what we did at the second meeting of Scrap Club at A Maze of Memories - so looking forward to that on Saturday.

Hope you've all had good weeks.
Hugs xx

Final Challenge LO (for January)

I made this LO for a Sketchy Saturdays challenge on WeScrap using Little Yellow Bicycle "Love Letters" papers and flock alpha. Buttons were from stash.
David took the photo while testing his camera - I was totally unprepared and am wearing my reading glasses as I was working (i.e. playing) on the computer.

With the addition of a bit more title and some journalling I also entered it for "I am...." on  Sue Sykes's website Kewl Beans. This was the first fortnightly challenge of "Leave your Legacy". We had to describe ourselves at this moment in time.
Nothing too profound from me .......Man. Utd, Twilight and Max all got a mention...as did my dislike of the "h" and "i" words!

Yesterday evening I started playing around with a Steampunk tag - too tired to finish it so hoping to get back to it today, nausea permitting.
Hope you're all having a good week....can't believe it's Wednesday again and February to boot. What happened to January?
Hugs.