Goodbye and hello!

Thought I would share the card I made for a dear friend who is leaving for pastures new very shortly :( I am off out for a meal with her and a few other friends tonight, and can't wait to catch up with them all :)

I basically cardlifted this card from Tiets here although I only did a single gatefold instead of the double :)

The image is a Sugar Nellie Gorjuss stamp, coloured in with watercolours, and the message stamp on the front is from Elzybells. I used K&Co papers, and the butterflies are done with a Martha Stewart punch. The tags have a little message on one, and our address and phone number on the other, so we can keep in touch :)

So that's the goodbye, so what's the hello?? Well, after playing with my limited Promarker collection earlier on in the week, I bit the bullet and ordered a bulk order of Promarkers from Angelcrafts :) So I am hoping to get a bit of time to play next week before I head back to work ;)

Also I am saying hello to my little seedlings LOL

In my little propogator I now have 8 tomato plant seedlings, and a few lettuce seedlings have started to appear. No signs of the herbs yet...

Tom had a great birthday, he loved his card :) He also loved the pile of Lego that was nearly as big as him LOL. He has spent most of his spare time building, and has just the largest set left to build now. I'm off to his school this afternoon as his class is leading the assembly this week. They are telling the Easter story, and Tom is playing Judas.... hmmm. He has a black jumper to wear, because he told me "all murderous people wear black, Mummy" - and I think he is looking forward to playing the bad guy. Knowing the boy, he could ham it up and even throw in a villainous laugh bwahahahahaha...

Been keeping up with the walking this week too, doing 3 walks this week :) My legs sure are complaining, so I must be doing the old muscles some good.

Jemma has been busy singing with the school choir at the Moray Music Festival this week, she looked quite the proper school girl with her shirt, tie, skirt and long white socks LOL - nothing like her at all :) They didn't win any prizes this time, although Jemma was adamant that they were robbed yesterday, as she said "we were soooo much better than at least 2 of the other choirs". Oh dear.

Well off I go, as its a busy old weekend ahead - Tang Soo Do belt grading tomorrow morning, then Tom's party tomorrow afternoon. Will probably need Sunday to recover....

TTFN

xxxx

Happy and sad memories...

... I capture them all in my pages. This past week I have had my Papa on my mind alot. He's been gone for a long time now, but I have found myself thinking alot about him lately. So I thought that it was time to actually get some things down on paper.

This first layout was based on a March 2010 PageMap. I found this photo whilst looking through some older photos that I have on the computer. This is the last time a photo was taken of my Papa before he died. It evoked a lot of strong memories for me, and it took alot of scribbling down in notebooks to find the right journalling, as I didn't want it to just be about the celebration, the who what where when how. I think he knew that this was the last time he would see alot of the people gathered there at their Golden Wedding celebration.

I used MME paper and a Making Memories journalling page. The flowers and ribbon were from my stash, and the alpha stickers are Pink Paislee.

The second layout I did was pretty simple :) I went through my photos and found 4 of Papa (one with my Mum as a child, one with me as a baby and 2 later ones) and used a square punch to crop them.
I then made a list of all the things I remember about him, all the quirks and the things he did. I just wrote them onto the page. I used some Chatterbox paper to add a bit of colour, and the alpha stickers are Scenic Route and American Crafts, the "memories" sticker is one I have had for eons... I then used my Zig pen to draw a border. Simple, yet effective - just like me :P

Doing these layouts was cathartic for me, and getting the memories down is important to me. My kids never met my Papa, so I think it's good for them to be able to read what kind of man he was.

Moving on now, to something a bit less melancholy LOL. I got the chance last weekend to meet up with the girls from Fraserburgh at Mayne House in Elgin. Last year I spent a weekend at the house crafting with these ladies, but this year I was unable to repeat this as I was due to be working. As it turned out, I was given holiday, but other things had been planned for the weekend, so I was still unable to go :( As luck would have it, I bumped into the girls as they perused the stock in my LSS - the Papercraft boutique - a.k.a Mrs Mac's crafting emporium ;) and they invited me over on the Saturday night for a Chinese takeaway and games night. So off I went, and I had a ball. I took a bit of crafting to do - namely Tom's birthday card - which I actually finished, and then had a good old giggle playing games with everyone. Just call me the Queen of the Anagrams, as Erika is Queen of Muffins, and Jo is Queen of Paper Recognition....

Anyhow, this is the card I made :) I used the sketch from this weeks Sugar Bowl Challenge.

I used one of the Diane Duda digital images, and this one screams Tom all over LOL. Originally I had used pencils to colour it in, usually I use watercolours, but the printer ink bled... So I then used another copy of the image and used my small collection (and yes, it is very small) of Promarkers to colour him in :)
The card is made from bazzill, and the paper is Basic Grey Color me Silly - I've always loved those frogs, and they are perfect for the image :) I used some ribbon, chipboard stars, and a foam thicker for embellishment, and the sentiment is handwritten. I know Tom will love it :)

So the rest of the week is all about the boy and his birthday - I can't believe he is 8, it only seems 5 minutes since he was born. They are having a wear green to school day tomorrow, and on Saturday he is having a swimming party for some of his pals. Sunday he is having a couple of friends over to play and to have tea :) Then we only have a few weeks, and it's Jemma's turn for a birthday....

TTFN

xxxx

A few cards this week...

It's all about cards at the moment, whether it is birthdays or Mothers Day, but that's what I have been up to this week.

This card was for a little pal of Tom's, whose party was last week :) I used an old Sugar Nellie stamp, and stamped the balloon 8 times seeing as he was 8 :) I coloured him in with my trusty watercolour pencils.
This was my first attempt at an easel card, and I really like them.
This next card is for the next door neighbour of Mark's parents, who will be 90 very soon. Unfortunately she is not in good health, and it is probable that she will be leaving her house to go into a nursing home :(
I used a topper thing that I got from Craftwork Cards yonks ago, I found them when I was having a clear out!!

This next card is the Mothers Day card for my MIL. I tried my hand at a shutter card, and after much cursing and swearing I finally came up with this. I don't know why I had so much trouble.... Thanks to my Norty friend Anne, for the inspiration xx

I used my Sugar Nellie Daisy stamp on this card, and the papers are basic Grey. Again I used watercolour pencils for colouring in the image :)

This is the card for my Mum. Again I used the Daisy stamp from Sugar Nellie, and Basic Grey papers, and I cardlifted this one from one of the Sugar Nellie DT, but can't remember who - but it'll be either Marlene or Tiets as I love their work... The sentiment stamp is from Elzybells.

As well as making cards, I have been busy in the kitchen. I am on holiday from work for a few weeks now, and have a nice long list of recipes I want to try before I go back to work. Yesterday I tried my hand at Hot Cross Buns, and they turned out OK, but not very pretty looking - I need a new piping bag me thinks - and definitely not photogenic. Mind you, they must have tasted OK, as there were only a couple left this morning LOL. Today has been biscotti day, as I tried a lovely chocolate and hazelnut recipe from Feb's Good Food Magazine. They are quite tangy, as there is also orange zest in them. Might need a stop watch to time how long they last when the gannets get in....

I think there's just enough time before the school run to flick through my new CK magazine that dropped on my mat this morning... and maybe just one more biscotti...

TTFN

xxxx

A few layouts to share....

After a week of sickness, the House of Yoo is finally feeling fine again!! After my horrible 24 hours, Mark then had it, followed by Jemma and finally Tom - now you can't say that I don't share LOL. So that really took over the week, although we did make it to Mark's Warrant presentation on Tuesday afternoon, very proud moment - and another frame to hang in the downstairs loo :)

This weekend was my weekend at work, so not alot of stuff to report, although me and the kids managed to fit in a bracing walk along the beach to Daisy Rock on Saturday afternoon, Mark wimped out as he said it was too cold and too windy - pah, little did he realise that the wind dropped considerably on the beach, so it was actually quite pleasant. There was a group of photographers stationed just past Daisy Rock, probably from a camera club/class. They all had their tripods out, I think they were there to capture the magnificent sight of the huge waves hitting the rocks and creating spray. Not sure whether me and the kids got captured too though, as we climbed to the top of the rock and sat looking at the wonderful view! Plus it was the first time I had actually climbed onto the rock, usually I am the one at the bottom taking photos of the rest of them and panicking telling them to be careful!

I also uploaded some photos to Photobox for printing this week, they are all photos of Mark as a kid :) I am really impressed with Photobox at the moment, as I got this set of photos 24 hours after uploading - and that is saying something with all the snow problems this week. No snow here though, thank goodness :) So keep an eye out for LOs featuring bad 70's hair and fashion...

On to the layouts now, I managed to get a few done this week, all using PageMaps, gotta love 'em. These all feature older photos of the kids, I went through my storage folders and found some photos that I absolutely adore, and I am really pleased with the layouts I have done with them :)

First up is Jemma and her pal Daniel. These two were inseperable the whole time we were in Gibraltar. It's unfortunate that Dan now lives at the other end of the country, but thats Forces life for you.

I used a Feb 2010 PageMap for this one, and the papers are Crate Paper Mia range. I used my new retro flower punches and also my Martha Stewart butterfly punch. This is a bit shabby chic for me, but I love how it has turned out, and how the corrugated card has added some dimension :)

Next up is the boy...

This is the start of his Star Wars phase, which hasn't really gone away yet, he's now on the Lego... These photos show him with his home made light sabres, wearing Jemma's dressing gown, and pretending to be a Jedi... He had the moves to a tee. I used a PageMap from July 2009, and some of the gorgeous BoBunny Flutter Butter papers I got in a kit from Sarah's Cards.

The final layout for today features one of my all time favourite photos of the boy. Again there is a Star Wars theme, but then alot of Tom's 3rd year was spent re-enacting various scenes from Star Wars.... I took this photo on our day trip to London in July 2005, a week after the bombings. We took a River boat trip, and Tom pulled this pose as we went under Tower bridge...

I used a Feb 2010 PageMap for this one, and used up loads of scraps - there are K&C0 and Crate papers on there, maybe others too :) The label is from Shabby Chic.

Hoping to get some more LOs done this week, and seeing as I have some unexpected holidays from work starting on Saturday, I am hoping to get a few more done in March :) But I am also hoping to get some seeds planted for my herb garden, and look into getting a raised bed made and put in the garden. If today is anything to go by, maybe we have turned a corner and spring is finally on it's way - I even have washing out on the line :)

Happy St David's Day to you all

TTFN

xxxx

War and Peace....

... right, I will warn you now - this will be an epic post, so go make yourself a cuppa and make yourself comfortable, as you could be a while... or alternatively, just scroll down and look at a couple of pictures instead ;)

Life has been full steam ahead in the House of Yoo just lately. The kids were on half term break, so the holiday ritual of haircuts and Scribbles took place on the Friday. Scribbles is the kids favourite place to eat, mainly because of the legendary Scribbles sundae. It's not the fanciest sundae in the world - double choc chip cookies, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce - I think it's appeal is because it can be ordered in a child sized portion, so they get one each!! Unfortunately for them this time we didn't do puddings, just a main course.
Tom went on a playdate on Monday with one of his old classmates. They spied us sitting in the afore mentioned eatery, and we arranged it there and then. So we had one happy boy!
Saturday, I decided it was a good day to tackle the garden. We haven't touched the garden since moving in in October (apart from Mark ripping out some probably very beautiful climbers which were covering an unsightly garage wall, but thats by the by) so it was untidy to say the least. I am wanting to plant a herb garden, and to put some raised beds in to grow some veggies. This is the plan. Whether it happens or not is another matter. But at least the garden is now weed free, and spikey plant free. And no before or after photos of this either. Plus I ached all over...
So whilst Tom was out on Monday, Mark and I set to and painted the sunroom. In Heather Bloom 6. Didn't take as long as we planned, mainly due to prior preparation and lots of masking tape. We forgot to take a "before" photo. Never mind.
Tuesday, the kids went back to school. And we dug out the pasting table to attempt to hang wallpaper on one wall in the newly painted sunroom. It was sort of a success - the top of the paper is scrappy in places, and one piece seemed to creep across a bit after hanging, leaving a join line. Still working on how we can disguise this. But not bad for a first effort. Now, I have managed to get a photo of the "after"....

Normal life resumed after all that decorating frenzy, with food shopping, and work and stuff. Mark was back to work on the Thursday, so I managed to catch up with the housework. All was going fine, until the wee small hours on Friday, which I spent mostly in the en suite with my head down the loo... I was thinking it was food poisoning, or just me eating a big meal too late, but Mark has since had a tummy upset too, so I think it was a bug.
Friday was a complete wipeout, and I called in sick to work, there was no chance I could manage a shift. And to add to it all, we had 2 inches of snow fall in about an hour on Friday morning. More white stuff. Deep joy. Good job I bought those sledges in Asda on Wednesday...

So onto this weekend. Saturday I felt a bit more human. Tom had a party in the afternoon, and he went dressed as a "ninja spy". He then went to a Beaver Scout sleepover in a local village hall - 17 7 & 8 years olds, didn't envy their leaders one bit!! They did alot of activities, on an alien theme, including decorating biscuits, making masks and space ships, and bizarrely eating alien food. It turns out that alien food was different foods covered in chocolate. There were grapes, strawberries, sausages and cheesy puff ball crisps....hmmm. Tom said they tasted OK, and that sausages in chocolate were actually pretty tasty... But I don't think they'll be on my meal planner somehow... I picked him up Sunday morning, so we could go to the Founders Day/Thinking Day service at the local church. Mark and Jemma were marching up from the harbour, and we just missed the parade.

After the service, and lunch at home, I went to Tescos and then met Mark and the kids at the beach at Lossiemouth. It was a beautiful afternoon - bright blue skies, glorious sunshine and snow on the dunes. I've never walked on a beach with snow on it before. The kids were leaping off the dunes as per usual, and then we walked back on the river side of the dunes. Tom was fascinated with following rabbit tracks, but we couldn't seem to find any holes!! There were a lot of icy puddles, and the kids picked up large pieces of ice - which looked alot like sheets of glass - and practised reverse punches and roundhouse kicks on them. And guess what?? I forgot the camera.
We then headed to the ice cream shop - yes ice cream in February. I didn't partake in the activity, but the other 3 had a cone each. Tom managed to wear most of his. He even got some on his hat. Don't ask. He truly is a ming magnet.
It's taken me a while, but I'm finally getting over the obsession I had of taking the camera everywhere, and seeing our life through the viewfinder instead of being involved in stuff. If I'd have had the camera at the beach, I'd have probably got some cool shot of the kids jumping off dunes and breaking ice, but then I wouldn't have been spending the time walking across icy puddles myself and feeling the ice crack under my boots, or throwing ice into the river to see if it floats. Yes, I regret not getting a few shots of the snow on the sand, and how the dunes looked against the sky, but I'm sure I'll have other days. I have realised I don't have to take photos of everything we do. I have more than enough photos to keep me scrapbooking for many many years even if I never took another photo again! Before I scrapbooked, I took photos. Photos of stuff, of people, of pets, of places, of occasions. I didn't feel the need to take a photo of everything. Sometimes being a scrapbooker made me feel that something didn't actually happen unless I took photographic evidence of it. And then it would be a series of photos of said event. Through reading Photo Freedom, and trying to implement Stacy Julian's photo organisation system, I can see that I have million beach photos - the whole of my married life I have not lived further than 5 miles from the sea, whether it is the North Sea or the Mediterranean, so I have a lot of beach photos - so one trip to the beach without the camera is not the end of the world. And Tom attracts mess as a normal 7 year old does, so I am sure there are going to be many more opportunities for photos of a food covered face LOL. And with 3 scouting members in the family there are going to be many many more parades :)

I know I am documenting my life in other ways - my daily diary, and to some extent this blog. Documenting our life is not always about the photos, but words can be just as effective. I am a big fan of journalling on my LOs anyway.

I did take some photos this week, and this is one of them.

Whilst tidying the garden, Mark found these little chaps scattered around the various flower beds. I can remember seeing one in the rockery not long after we moved in, but in the end he found 5 of the critters, so we now have our own colony of meerkats LOL. And here they are enjoying the snow. Now, that's a LO in the making...

And speaking of LOs, I do have one to share. That is if anyone is still with me at this point.

This is another Photo Freedom inspired LO. Flicking through my storage albums I found some photos of Jemma with various stuffed toys. "A -ha" I say, and bingo, a LO on her tendency to take toys on nearly every trip we took out of the house...

I based the LO on a sketch in February 2010's issue of Creating Keepsakes. The paper is Prima, with some Bazzill card, PaperMania alphas for the title and the felt flower is one kindly sent to me by my Michigan buddy Sharon.

So, I'll get down off the soap box and back to the ins and outs of daily life. If you made it this far without falling asleep, then congratulations, go treat yourself to a chocolate biscuit or a stiff drink, whichever seems the most appropriate ;) And maybe I'll see you here again :)

TTFN

xxxx

Big fish, little fish....

.... cardboard box??? Not quite LOL.

I am a regular visitor to the PageMaps blog and they are currently running a competition to create a layout using the sketch provided. Now I LOVE PageMap sketches, and I use them alot, in fact I doubt if I'd get as many pages done without them. So, for once, I thought I would bite the bullet and give the competition a shot :) So here goes....

I flipped the sketch so it was a mirror image. It just seemed to look better that way LOL. I have used up a few of my scraps again, mostly Scenic Route, and a piece from an old Colorbok stack I bought when I first starting scrapping. The title is AC Thickers - the raw chipboard ones, which I painted and inked and then added some diamond glaze to make them look watery... The embellishment is Maya Road, again painted, inked and glazed. The stitching I did using a Bazzill stitching template.

I love the photo of the boys, and the colours of that pool were just amazing - that's a Mediterranean summer for you! I have literally hundreds of shots of the family in this pool, and all are turquoise LOL - *sigh* I miss Gibraltar so much.

TFL

More cards...

... February is a busy month for family birthdays, so I thought I would use some time over the weekend to get organised with my cardmaking for the month.

The first card is for my sister, who is 30 at the end of the month, although in my eyes she is always my baby sister. I used the Manga Fairy from Sugar Nellie, and a sketch which I squirrelled away in a folder but have no idea whose it is - I do know that it is one of the Sugar Nellie DT, so it could be either Tiets or Marlene... I used K&Co papers :)

The second card is for my mother in law, and again I used a sketch, and again I have no idea whose it is LOL. But it is most likely to be the same as before, so either Tiets or Marlene from the Sugar Nellie DT :) I used a Gorjuss girl stamp on this one, and some BG papers. Oh and my Martha Stewart butterfly punch :)

I also managed to get some scrapping done too - I went through one of the storage albums I have and found some photos of Tom in a school assembly. The boy was a complete star that day, having a whole side of A4 to read out - considerably more than the rest of his class mates. His reading has always been his forte, he has been a phenomenal reader, and this assembly let him show off his strengths. We were obviously proud at his achievements, but a few other parents in the class were gobsmacked... Their poor teacher at the next parents evening had a lot of parents asking why their little Johnny wasn't reading like Tom did in that assembly...

I used a PageMaps sketch for this one, a 8.5 x 11 double from October 2009.

Things are slowly progressing on the decorating front - Mark is on leave this week, and we have been picking paints and wallpaper to transform the sunroom :) The kids are on half term from Friday to Monday, so the painting will begin on Tuesday ;) I am hoping that the weather doesn't work against us, and at least stays dry, so that we can get out of the house over the weekend. Mark is taking the kids to the cinema on Sunday to see Astroboy - Tom loves that he has machine guns in his butt (not Tom, Astroboy!!!) and has been asking to see this movie for weeks.

I'm at work over the weekend, so won't be going - I am predicting a busy weekend, with Valentines Day and Chinese New Year. Plus there is a Dine in Meal for 2 offer on, and its the Valentines special - 3 courses, wine, chocolates or a rose all for £20, a bargain ;) So by the end of Sunday night I will be shattered LOL.

TTFN

xxxx