Happy

Sunday was the local Hopeman crop, an enjoyable afternoon full of chat, laughs, tea, cakes and of course a wee bit of crafting!!!

I'd taken a couple of page kits, and managed to complete one layout (apart from title and journalling) and half finished a second layout.

This is the layout I almost completed at the crop, after I had added the title and journalling at home :)

I used a 8.5 x 11 horizontal PageMap from November 2011. The photo is of my Grandparents, taken whilst on holiday in Eastbourne around 1952.

The papers I used are from Pink Paislee. I love double sided papers! I had fun decorating the circles with punched butterflies and tiny flowers. I added a bit of handstitching to finish things off.

TTFN

xxxx

November PageMaps sample:: Walk

About a year ago, I put my name forward to Becky Fleck over at PageMaps to say that I would like to be considered to do a sample layout for the monthly newsletter and website. I didn't think anymore about it, until October when an email came from Becky asking if I was still interested in doing a layout, and it was for the November PageMaps reveal? Interested? Boy, was I ever!!! PageMaps has been my go to sketch site since forever LOL, and it was the first sketch site I ever found. It was a long time before I realised that there were other sketches out there, so Becky has been like a sketch Goddess to me for many years. To be asked was such a big thing for me!!

So after I had finished running roung the house like a mad woman, and stopped chanting OMG over and over again, I got down to the nitty gritty and made my page. And I must say, that I love this layout. Simple it may be, but oh my, I just love it! Thanks Becky, for your great sketch!

As you can see, I was given a 8.5 x 11 Map to work with. I just flipped the sketch, as the photos were placed on the left hand side of the sketch, and  I have a thing about people looking off the page...

The photos show my Mum (aged about 16 months) walking along a wall holding  my Great Grandfather's hand. This is the guest house they were staying at whilst on holiday in Eastbourne in 1949. I have a whole album of these kind of photos to work through, and I love seeing the family connections.

I used some of the beautiful My Mind's Eye papers from the Stella and Rose collection - I am loving this colour combination at the moment, especially on my heritage layouts. I made the rosette using an edging strip from one of the papers, and scored it at 0.5 cm intervals using my Hougie board. The title was done with American Crafts Lullaby foam Thickers - I coloured them using a ProMarker (Cool Grey 5) and then added Black Diamond Stickles on top to add some texture.

I'd also like to say a big thank you to Francine, for featuring me as Inspiration du Jour over at CraftGossip.com today!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today, I hope you enjoyed your visit :)

TTFN


xxxx

A scrappy Sunday...

... to end a great weekend! Mark and I had a great night out at the wedding reception - catching up with friends, doing a spot of dancing on the dancefloor, and watching old friends relive days gone by. Add into that a stunning bride, some very cute bridesmaids and the sight of men in kilts, and it truly was the best night out we have had in a long time!

Today, Mark and Tom went to walk along part of the Dava Way, whilst Jemma was on day 2 of her camping/hiking adventure. And me, well today was local crop day, so I spent most of the day playing with pretty paper, drinking tea, chatting and eating cake. Bargain! Erika had set us a crop challenge, to make a scrapbook page using a sketch she chose from the May 2011 PageMaps. Not so much of a challenge for me as a scrapbooker, but we have a good number of cardmakers come to the crop, so it really was a challenge for some of them who had never done a page before. The pages were fantastic, everyone had there own take on the sketch.
This was my offering...

Tom, dressed up as Sully from Monsters, Inc. This was the first time he went trick or treating, and he was a big hit! Everyone commented on how cute he was, and he came home with a big haul of goodies!

I used just one piece of patterned paper and one sheet of cardstock to make this layout. The paper is Scenic Route - Metropolis Scrap Strip 3. I love the multi patterned papers. And they were perfect for this sketch. The bunting is Maya Road chipboard, painted with Making Memories paint, and topped with some patterned paper and epoxy stickers from Paperchase. I used a notebook paper border punch, and a stitching template from Bazzill, and finished off with the title made using Scenic Route chipboard letters.

This past week has been great fun for me - pampering and playing - although I have learned a few lessons along the way...

• Next time you decide to have a spray tan, make sure you book it on your day off.... Going to work and continuing to turn a deeper shade of brown tends to freak out both customers and members of staff...
• False nails do not help you when you are trying to take the backing off double sided tape. In fact they are a complete hinderance...
• Make sure that the dress you wear next time you get a spray tan is not dry clean only...
• Changing your shoes at the last possible moment was in fact the correct decision. Pretty shoes can also be pretty impractical...

TTFN



xxxx

A right pair of posers...

...just look at these silly boys LOL.



I went back to my trusty PageMaps for this page. It's been a while since I have looked at my PageMap folder. I almost felt as if I had been "cheating on" Becky with Allison. How silly am I?

I used a sketch from November 2009. The photo is one I have wanted to scrap for ages. The face of the boy is priceless, that is his Thinking Face. Mark was doing his "Man at C&A" pose, his general male-model-looking-thoughtful-and-off-into-the-distance-pose. When I looked at this photo I thought "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", and then remembered I had a set of Hambly Studio rub ons of trees. Perfect. I handcut the leaves from different paper textures, and found a couple of chipboard apples to complete the theme. I inked raw chipboard alphas for the title, and then added a coat of Glossy accents to finish.

The journalling reads: Mark's "Man @ C&A" pose. Tom's "Thinking Face". Once again, evidence that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... 10/2007

Cardstock - Bazzill Basics

Rub on - Hambly Studios

Patterned paper - 7 Gypsies, Crate Paper

Journalling page - Making Memories

Chipboard - Basic Grey, PaperMania, apples unknown

Stamps - Studio G

I am just about over a nasty cold that has plagued me all weekend - add to the mix a full weekend at work, complete with a compliment of hoards of Christmas shoppers, and you can't imagine the relief I am feeling about having 2 days off work LOL. And it's only going to get worse...

I made a list of jobs to do this morning, and am quite pleased to say I have accomplished about 80% of it. I even made soup. Stewpack and Guinea Pig greens soup. Not as weird as it sounds I promise!

I am also up to date with my December album. Long may it continue LOL. I may share it, although to be honest, it is a little rough and ready in places. But I am documenting December in a stress free way, so unpolished it will stay!

TTFN

xxxx

Yes, I know...

...it's been a while. You must have thought that I'd got lost on our trip around the country in 8 days... Alas, we did not. I thought I would bring you up to speed on whats been going on around here, but first...

Today is Remembrance Day in the UK and Veteran's Day in the US. As a proud wife of a RAF serviceman, I wear my poppy with pride. We will all be marching in the village Remembrance Parade on Sunday. Also as a Granddaughter of a RAMC Burma Star recipient and the Great- granddaughter of a RGA Gunner who saw action in Ypres and Gallipoli I feel very proud of all the sacrifices my family has made over the decades to ensure we enjoy our freedom today.
We will remember them.

So, back to the recap of the past few weeks in the house of Yoo...

Our trip.
15 - 25 October. We had a great time, catching up with family and friends, exploring London, and seeing the boy's face when he walked through the gates at Legoland. It was so worth the travelling, the getting stuck on the M25, the 2 nights in a dubious hotel in central Watford and the having to sleep on a blow up matress on the lounge floor.
What wasn't so great was the announcement in Parliament on the 19th October. An announcement which sent our little family and the local community into a stae of shock and disbelief. Uncertain of what the future holds, but coping as best we can, even though we have no definitive answers. When we know what we are dealing with, I can get my head around it and carry on. It's what Military families do. Whether we like it or not...

Hopeman Crop.
31st October. Another great afternoon with a lovely bunch of girls - some old and some new. It was so therapeutic to sit down and craft, something I hadn't managed to do since returning from our holiday. I managed to complete most of a double layout and a single layout. I never seem to finish things off completely at a crop - usually due to me forgetting an important element (this time it was foam sticky pads) - and I always go home to add the finishing touches! Thanks to Erika for the delicious Halloween themed orange muffins. Nom nom nom!

Tang Soo Do belt grading.
6th November. The kids did really really well, both achieving their brown tag belts - which look like a huge long Oreo cookie, brown with a white stripe down the middle! And thankfully, no new trim to sew on the suits this time around!

Finally, I have some layouts to share. The first 2 are the pages I was working on at the crop.


Drivin' me Crazy. This page is based on a PageMaps sketch from January 2010. It is my Mum and Dad on their wedding day - my Dad held only a Motorbike license when they got married, but my Mum had passed her full driving license, so it was up to her to drive them away on their honeymoon.

Patterned paper - My Minds Eye, Prima Marketing

Cardstock - Bazzill

Punches - EK Success

Alphabet stickers - American Crafts

Buttons - Paper Mania

Stamp - Close to my Heart

Flower - Prima Marketing

Ribbon - from my ribbon box

Temple. These photographs were taken on our holiday to Turkey in 2008. We visited the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, the ruins are spectacular, and the remaining standing pillars are just breath taking.
I used an Allison Davis sketch from her August Sketch week.

Cardstock - Bazzill

Patterned paper - Making Memories, Fancy Pants Designs, Prima Marketing, K&Co

Alphabet stickers - American Crafts

Embossing plates - Cuttlebug

Buttons - Paper Mania, my button box

Gorge walk. These photos were taken during our "adventure week" in July, when we went gorge walking just outside Aviemore. The photos were taken by one of our guides with his waterproof camera, and then e-mailed to us after. They aren't the best quality, but they convey the whole experience we had that day! Again, I have used an Allison Davis sketch, this time from the January Sketch week.

Cardstock - Bazzill

Patterned papers - October Afternoon, Doodlebug, Prima Marketing

Stamp - Close to my Heart

Buttons - Paper Mania

Alphabet stickers - American Crafts

Kleines Fraulein. This page uses photos of our youngest German cousin, Eva Lotte. Mark has a German side to his family, as both his mother and his Aunt both spent time in Germany in the 60s as nurses. Doreen met a German guy, married and has lived in Germany ever since. Mark has 3 German cousins, and now there is a second generation of cousins. At cousin Sara's wedding in 2008, we got to meet them all for the first time. Eva Lotte was a complete darling, and everyone was besotted with her. I took these photos of her after the wedding. I converted them to sepia as the colour photographs I had were not fitting in to what I was planning! I used an Allison Davis sketch again, this is the latest Sketch week sketch - it's happening this week! I took the right hand page of the sketch, and just made a single layout. The flowers I made by punching 2" circles out of tissue paper, stamping some of them and then scrunching them all up and inking them, before fastening a button to the centre with embroidery floss.

Cardstock - Bazzill

Lace cardstock - KI Memories

Stamp - Prima Marketing

Ribbon - from my ribbon box

Alphabet stickers - American Crafts

Buttons - from my button box!

Embroidery thread - DMC

I have also been working on a couple of projects - things that I don't want to jinx by mentioning them here... But don't worry, I'll spill the beans soon enough, whether they come to fruition or not.

I hope you like the look of the place - I thought I would redecorate, although getting to grips with a new blog header is driving my nuts....

TTFN

xxxx

Wonderful Wednesdays

Wednesday are usually OK - a day off from work, shopping day, and my turn to take the kids to Tang Soo classes. Rarely can they be described as "wonderful", but I think yesterday was an exception. It was a pretty good day.

Reason 1
I managed to work out how to use the air machine at the garage to pump up the front tyres of the car. All by myself. And I didn't swear...much.

Reason 2
I was called "gorgeous" by a shop assistant in Halfords. And he didn't have a white stick and a dog, or even a pair of glasses on. And he was hot.

Reason 3
Got to spend the afternoon catching up, drinking tea and eating cake with my friend Erika.

Reason 4
I finally knuckled down and finished off the shadow box frame for my parent's Ruby wedding.

I didn't faff about too much, I am a clean and simple girl after all! I based this loosely on a PageMaps sketch from March 2009. I used My Minds Eye paper, and the script background is a Prima stamp on bazzill card using Memento ink. The flowers are also Prima. I got the frame from Arrowfile, and used watered down emulsion to white wash the frame.

Reason 5
One of my layouts was showcased on Allison Davis's blog yesterday! I'd emailed her last week attaching my "Open Water" layout, never thinking that she would ever want to use it. Thank you Allison, and thanks for your sketches too!

So you can see why I thought that this Wednesday was particularly wonderful!

Finally, I'd thought I'd share the card I have made for my parents to go with the frame.

Based on the September Mini book a Month Album class from 2 Peas designed by Jen Gallacher. I am making the mini book too, but started off by making a card.
I used Bazzill card, and My Minds Eye paper. The kraft card is embossed using a Cuttlebug folder, and then I swiped some pearlescent chalk over it to give it a shine. The 40 is cut out from Bazzill Bling card with my Nouveau Sizzlit alpha dies. I added a bit of lace from my ribbon box, and a Prima flower. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch. I did a bit of machine stitching to finish it off.

I am in the process of making the mini book, but have found that I have run out of double sided tape... But I think me and the boy are off to town later, his partner in crime at Tang Soo has been in hospital all week fighting a nasty chest infection, and Tom wants to go visit him. I was going to make a wee card for him too, will have to rummage around my craft room for alternative adhesive....

TTFN

xxxx

P.S. I'm thinking that my Plain Jane blog needs a bit of a facelift. I am a complete technophone, so any hints, tips, pointers, links would be gratefully received. Ta x

Holidays and heritage

I finally managed to find some time to do some scrapping at the end of last week, and managed a double and a single layout, using sketches - an Allison Davis one, and a PageMaps one.

The double uses an Allison Davis sketch - the same one I used for the last double I did! I love the circle elements on this one.

The photos are from a boat trip we took in Turkey, 2008. I love the ones of the kids, as Tom is hamming it up for the camera! I used Bazzill cardstock, Heidi Grace paper and some paper from Tescos. The title is chipboard Thickers from American Crafts.

The next layout I did is a heritage one. I used a PageMap sketch from the September 2010 releases.

This photo is of my Great Grandfather. I *think* it's my Gran sat on the hedge next to him. I used Bazzill cardstock, My Minds Eye, Bo Bunny and Making Memories papers, Prima flowers, and American Crafts foam Thickers. The buttons are from my Gran's button box.

I was considering going back and doing some machine stitching on it, but have left it for now.

It's good to get the creative juices flowing a bit now and again!

The weekend was busy with Tang Soo Do competitions and long shifts at work. The kids competed in the Scottish Championships on Saturday, Jemma won 2 bronze medals, but Tom came away empty handed. Unfortunately he has just moved up a category, so he is now one of the youngest in his group, so he found the sparring hard going :( He was fourth in his forms, which was a good result, but you don't get a medal for fourth place...
Saturday night was stock take at work - counting small bags of sweets at 1 am is not my idea of fun, but at least it's done for another few months. The store is having a lot of upheaval just now - as well the new shelving and brands, we are getting a new Store Manager next week, and the Section Managers are having a move round too. So, expecting some more drama at work in the next few weeks...

TTFN

xxxx

Age is just a number...

...an ever increasing number, but a number all the same.

Yesterday was my birthday. My 38th birthday. I remember when it was all about the presents, the parties, the candles on the cake. Nowadays, it's more about the fact I've made it to another birthday, the gratitude, and the excitement of the kids - oh, and it's still about the presents!
I didn't get cake this year, I was at work, and also Jemma left for a school trip, and it wouldn't have been the same. Didn't seem worth sticking a candle in a muffin. Although, if truth be told, I was upset that no-one sang "happy birthday" to me...

I had a quiet day to myself - had a lovely long soak in the bath, and then did a bit of crafting in the afternoon before going to work. Felt odd having to work on my birthday, although whilst doing the date checks at least I didn't need to ask anyone what the date was!

I felt quite retrospective yesterday, LSNED is making me more thoughtful this year. Maybe it's because I don't have to just find a caption for a photo I have taken, I need to explain my lessons more fully in a blog post. So, during my craftiness, I made this layout. And it even has a photo of me on it. Not a great photo - now for Mark that is unusual, the camera appears to have focussed on the trees rather than me! - but then that sums me up. Not perfect by any means, and sometimes unfocussed and a bit fuzzy round the edges! I hate photos of me, I see all the things I hate about myself magnified a thousandfold. But this one, it captures me at this point in my life.

Journalling reads - Life is good. I have blonde streaks. I don't feel any older. I'm regaining my confidence. I'm working on my weaknesses. I'm still smiling.

I used a PageMap sketch from August 2010, the cardstock is Bazzill and the papers are K&Co and October Afternoon. The flowers are Prima, and the alphas are American Crafts raw chipboard Thickers, coloured with brown ink and topped with Glossy Accents. I'm not sure where the journalling page came from, and the buttons, ribbon and lace are from my stash.

Oh, and please check out Erika's blog post from yesterday, she made me the most Gorjuss birthday card, it is a stunning card!

Proud of my boy today as well - he was presented with the Chief Scout's Bronze award at Beavers. Pity the Chief Scout wasn't presenting it - Bear Grylls....phwoar. This is the top award for Beaver Scouts, showing that they are creative, fit, making friends, starting to learn about the world, exploring the outdoors and have understood the Promise. Tom has 7 challenge badges, he needed 6 to qualify for the award.

Tom "swims up" to Cubs next week. Another step in his life. But he is more than ready for it. And his Dad will be there with him, as Mark is an assistant Cub leader in the Hopeman pack. Tom has thoroughly enjoyed his scouting experience so far. I'm just waiting to see how many badges need to be transferred from his Beavers sweatshirt to his new Cubs one - sewing on badges is not one of my favourite jobs!

Oh, and talking of badges... After yesterday's post of my disappearing name badges, I went into work and there was one of my name badges in the Commercial Food Office, looking a bit battered and scratched. Bit like it's onwer! No idea where it was found, or what it went through to make it look like that. But at least I have it back again...

TTFN

xxxx

Scrapping the past...

I love scrapping old photos. I'm not a scrapbooker who exclusively scraps current photos, I love going back and reliving memories through older photos - although I do get frustrated when I can't remember the facts LOL. Scrapping much older photos - ie from before I was born - is fascinating to me, part of the fun for me is finding out the who, where, when, why and what of the photos.
On Two Peas, I have been taking part in Heritage challenges. This month, the challenges were to use photos without people, to use photos from the 1930's and to use a sketch. I don't have any old photos not including people, but as you can split the challenge up, I did what I know best - use a sketch!
I used PageMaps (what else?) as my sketches, and the first one is from the August 2010 selection.
This is a photo of my 2 Aunts on my parent's wedding day in 1970. They were the bridesmaids. I used bazzill card, My Mind's Eye paper and then plenty of Prima flowers. The title is Papermania alpha stickers and American Crafts foam Thickers.

The next layout meets 2 of the challenges - a photo from 1930's and a sketch. This sketch is from the July 2010 selection at PageMaps. This is a photo of my Great Grandmother, taken in 1933 when she was 57 years old. By this time she'd had 10 children, and was a grandma many times over. She reminds me of my Gran - her youngest child - the resemblance is uncanny. She died in 1967 aged 91, I just wished that I could have met her, all the evidence I have of her is that she was a strong, determined woman.

I used My Minds Eye and Making Memories papers, plus some scraps. The type paper is K&Co. I rolled 1 inch squares of paper and stuck them down to make the border. The swirl is Maya Road chipboard covered in Bazzill bling card. I then used 2 sizes of retro flower punch for the bloom. The title is using Basic Grey chipboard numbers.

I can't wait to see what challenges the girls come up with for September.

TTFN

xxxx

New supplies and new projects...

I like a nice bit of stash shopping as much as the next scrapbooker, and this week I had a double whammy! On Monday, I found some lovely Making Memories stuff and an American Crafts D ring album in TK Maxx of all places... Then on Wednesday, I went to my LSS for a quick Sugar fix and to generally have a nose around. Of course I left with a bag of goodies, including Prima stamps, Bo Bunny papers and Personal Impressions stamps. Oh and the Sugar Nellie stamp I went in for in the first place...
As it is the beginning of August, the new PageMaps are out, so after printing them out, one caught my eye and before I knew it, I had delved into my new stuff and came out with this...


Mark took these photos of Jemma doing a spot of harbour jumping. Now Jemma is a bit of an adventure girl, an adrenaline junkie. Anything remotely dangerous or adventurous is real magnet to this girl. She was really up for harbour jumping, but when the time came, all of a sudden she was really reluctant to do it. Even after a few visits, she still faffs and delays before jumping in. Very odd. She is a confident swimmer, and has jumped into pools from rocks before, and off diving boards. Not sure what the deal is with the harbour. Anyhow, these photos were taken last weekend, using the continous mode on my camera.
The papers are BoBunny Abbey Road - I love double sided papers. I used punches for the scallop circles and journalling spots, and my threading water punch. Title alphas are Sizzix Nouveau for "leap" and Papermania mini foam stickers for "of faith". The script paper is actually a Prima stamp, stamped onto Bazzill card.

Then, I did an unusual thing, I made a card from my scraps! I know I should do this more often, but alot of the time I am just plain lazy LOL.

This card is for a friend over the pond.
I used brown Memento ink to stamp the Sugar Nellie Manga stamp onto cardstock, and then coloured her in with ProMarkers. I used the BoBunny papers again, and then cut out a flower from one of the papers, and layered it with some Making Memories felt, paper and voile flowers. I finished it off with a pearl brad. The sentiment is from Elzybells. I added some Stickles to her hair, just for fun!


I can't believe it is Friday again, another week has flown by. The kids have had a whale of a time at Funtazia, and Tom especially is thoroughly worn out. It's my weekend off work this weekend, so I am sure that will fly by too. We need to get Jemma's camping kit sorted, as she is off camping with the Scouts next week. And they want to go to the library, so they can get the next stickers at the reading scheme. I think Karate Kid is on the agenda too, and probably a bit of gardening (weather permitting) as there are a few jobs that need doing.
Me and the boy have to go shopping for uniform and shoes, I seem to have left it a bit late this year, as next week is the last week of the hols, so no doubt will be a hellish experience. But that'll be a job for when Jemma is at camp - taking one child shopping is just that little bit easier...

TTFN

xxxx