Every Good Thing.

Suprise!!!

Sunday night catch-up again. Lol!

A typically busy Saturday yesterday. G and I did some girly shopping in Southend and then later got provisions for the week ahead. (Provisions for the week are looking a bit sparse just now due to spending far too much on clothes n stuff before. Suffice to say we are going to be eating a lot of eggs this week!)  It's whole lot easier when she comes to the supermarket with me because of the whole veggie thing she's got going on at the moment. Maybe I was wrong and it won't just be a fad? It has been a couple of months now?

The treat was a toasted panini and the hugest coffee from Starbucks, plus a copy of Scrapbook Inspirations and the Craft Stamper from WH Smiths. Bliss.

 

Imagine my suprise (...and I made George jump with my little exclamation!) when I turned the page to see this...

 

A really, really nice suprise as I haven't seen the layout since it was sent, and managed to lose my copy of the original mag.

I was also really inspired by Melanie Grimes 'Having A Sister' digital layout on page 63. Check ou her blog for some stunning photography. I spent this afternoon lifting her idea for my own (paper) page.

Lots (for me) of stamping on this. I really didn't realise just how many stamps I have until I started piling them up on my table! A case of wow - where did all these come from?!

 

I am really liking this clean and unclutered feeling. Maybe because it is a straight lift and not my own design? As well as the occaisional scrap-lift I also somethimes work from sketches. This page was inspired by the 52 Sketches-52 Weeks site. Well worth a look, if you haven't come across it yet.

 

I don't know why the top half of this card looks a different colour to the bottom? I can assure you it is just one piece of card. Very mysterious?

 

I really like Georgina's shadow shot on this one, as well as how pretty our little house looks outside during the summer.

I have more to share, but need to begin the whole Sunday night dinner and back to school preparations and wind down routine now. Hopefully back later in the week. Thanks for stopping by.  Sx

What Style?

  Back again!

And I am wishing that, after nearly four days off work I had more to report, but it's been a very quiet Easter holiday for us. The weather having been a bit of a let down, we have spent most of the time at home, chatting, knitting (a little), reading (a lot), eating (too much) and drinking wine (far too much!). With Mum away on a little holiday and the Boy rolling in his sick bed at home, you would think I had the perfect chance to catch up on some scrapbooking? But, no. Nothing for 4 days. part of the problem being a lack of inspiring photos.

The huge box of old pictures we insist on carting around from place to place is looking tempting to me now. It just might be the right time to begin investigating it's depths. although I don't know how the girls will feel if I start scrapping their baby pictures now?!

On the subject of old photos, a lo from a few weeks ago.

 

Can you guess who it is..............?

Yep. Despite looking like the image of my eldest, it is actually moi, at about ten I think?

A blatant attempt to use up some of the huge stash I seem to have amassed in the last few months. I think this is an old Bad Girls kit with lots of 7 Gypsies stickers.

I am not really sure about this. Although, itdoes say what I felt about looking at such an old picture of myself. A barely recognisable child with a life time ahead. Much of which feels like a life time behind.

Here another child with a story of her own.

 

Looking at these two pages together on my table has brought me back to an on-going mystery. After scrapping for about 8 years now it still eludes me. Where is my style?

 

Isn't is just supposed to 'materialise' after a while? I suppose both pages do have some similarities in the way the papers and embellishments are grouped? But after that, what?

Is it just that I can't see it? Or is it (as I strongly suspect) that I just don't have one?

Have to say I love this second page. Everything about it; the quirky papers and colours.

Finally a very rare photo of the eldest girl. Not the most flattering picture. It was taken for her most recent security pass, and she can't help but look really pi**ed! This girl does not like having her picture taken.

 

With the journalling, I have tried to say everything about her that the photo doesn't say...

I am really hoping for some sunshine this afternoon to take photos of the pretty bursting blooms that are all around the house just now. Their beauty is so fleeting I am keen to capture them now.

If like me you are back to work tomorrow, I hope you have enjoyed your break and had a Happy Easter.

Thanks for stopping by. xxx

A Knotty Problem

Doesn't look very knotty does it?

This is the pretty heart shaped basket I bought last weekend. Inside two lovely soft balls of Bamboozle from Crystal Palace Yarns in baby blues and strawberries-limes. Yep back to knitting socks!

The blue ones have been cast on and frogged once, but now I've found a more suitable pattern, they are well and truly underway. Why socks? I think they suit my rather limited attention span. Haha!

This will be the first pair I knit for me, and I'm so looking forward to getting them finished. Watch this space.

And no, that's not the problem either!

It's much more of a personal nature.

In a nutshell, how do I keep my heart locked in a box?

WARNING: If you're just here to see the scrapbooking scroll down to the end now.

It's true I'm having fun being single. (Maybe a little too much fun to some people's eyes.)

My excuse?

I was Mrs Smug Married for a long, long time. I was loved, in love, and very happy for the longest time. Until it all fell apart. Not a slow, drawn out disintegration, but a tragic, dramatic, and life changing explosion. One that I could never have foreseen, and had no idea to overcome.

But, I did.

With the love and support of my family and friends; with counselling and prescription pharmaceuticals; and with the slow movement of time and the changing seasons, I have healed the raw bloody mess to a familiar old, smooth scar.

It is true; mistakes were made along the way. It hasn't been a smooth journey, and I know I cocked stuff up big time at times. Some of those mistakes can never be put right. I have to live with that.

Realising the terrible effect this had on my beautiful children. I learned to put aside the shameful selfishness of my own pain. Helped them to heal and grow strong.

I have found a way to live my life and carry on. Being brave and putting aside the pain, I found happiness and peace in just being me. I have re-discovered old dreams and made new plans, and now I can even focus on the future with a degree of hope.

The hard thing today is to ignore my feelings, and protect my heart, in the way I know I should.

The capacity to trust has been blown away forever, I'm sure; but the capacity to love an unrelated person? And all the passion, longing and desire that goes with it? How do I keep that locked in the box?

Okay, soul-searching rant over. I really would appreciate your comments if you made it through. Otherwise, here's what you scrolled down for;

Basic Grey chipboard letters have been stamped and touched up with a bit of white pen. really like the way these turned out!

 

Best thing about this week?

Has to be the arrival of this...

 

Hmmm....I may be some time.......

Sandra x

Me Now

Wednesday already! This week is really flying. So much so that I am feeling quite drained, and really need an early night.

Someone told me recently that I'm supposed to need less sleep as I get older. Sure doesn't seem to be rolling that way for me? But before I pop into bed for some (much needed) beauty sleep a few photos for you. Firstly speaking of being in bed - this.

 

Basic Grey and K and Company papers, with layers of packing tape, rub-ons and transparency.

 

7 Gypsies sticker, some stitching, bling brads and my hand writing.

 

Jounalling reads:-

Waiting for the dawn

Soft focus

Warm awakenings

Cloud white duvet

Bright sunlight

Sweet bird song

A life in colour

Yellow daffodils, green shoots

Blue skies

Moving through the day

Growing and expanding into me

Discovering fresh places inside

Stirring the edges

Finding joy in the newness

Wondering at the possibilities

Restoring my friendship with myself

Lighting up dark forgotten corners

And shifting the dust

Enjoying who I am now

Breathing gently

Listening quietly

To the world

Turning

Towards the sun

And secondly, my first play at a 6x12 lo, using the daffodil photo from the weekend.

 

In a page protector, but not really finished. Maybe I'll come back to this one?

 

Cute little blue bird with no eye?

For the moment I am being tempted away by the pretty new my little shoebox papers I bought at Sugar and Spice at the weekend. Sorry - Couldn't resist. This is a lovely shop in a very pretty craft center in Billericay, Essex. Well worth a visit if you get a chance. Particularly now as Marion has just had a delivery of loads of yummy new stuff from the USA. Make sure you also pop in to see the work of artist Dean Smith and enjoy a coffee in the restaurant.

I also bought some lovely wool for another pair of socks, which have already been cast on and frogged once this week! No wonder I'm tired eh?

Thanks for sticking with it to the end. more tomorrow.

(Early) Nite nite x

A Little Piece of Yellow.

 

Despite a very gloomy forecast for bad weather in the south east, today we have were blessed with more spring-like sunshine for a few days at least. You may know from previous posts, about this time, I am usually found grasping and clawing my way towards the bless-ed spring and some warmer weather.

We are now at the point when the skies start to lighten just before I wake, and the sun sets as I drive home from work. To me this is a little sparkle in the distance, as I look ahead. A reminder of the long summer evenings and warm, bright mornings to come. And it can’t be quick enough for me.

Now yellow comes into it’s own as the colour of spring: a reawakening and sign of hope for the future. I shall be taking time over the coming weeks to keep my eyes open and watch for the signs of regeneration around me. Buds on the trees, birds slowly returning, blue skies and bulbs blooming into a sea of yellow. A reminder from the world that life is a constantly changing cycle of highs and lows, rain and rainbows.

 

In this time of redundancies, crisis, shortfalls and crunches, we all need to grasp that hope.  I hope you find your little piece of yellow today.

Some Pretties.

  A little mini album for you today. (Click on the photos to see 'em bigger.)

 

Maya Road chipboard album, painted (and forgotten about for a couple of weeks!LOL!!)

         

A packet of K and Company Amy Butler die-cuts and a few fav photos, printed on cardstock. I like the way these come out from the printer. A bit grainy looking?

I also like putting old photos beside the newer ones. Really interesting to see how faces have changed (or not), and relationships develop. Reminding these girls of the past they share, as they move into the future.

And quickly - most inspiring lo of the week? Has to be this one.

Off to enjoy the weekend now. Thanks for visiting. Sandra x

Journal Pages.

Not much to share today. Oh except being uber excited about the spring coming.

March is such a tease!!! A few hours of sunshine. Five minutes of warmth, out of the wind. A tiny green bud and the promise of better to come. Bring it on, I say!!!

For lack of decent photos of newer stuff, I decided to show you a few old journal pages.

 

I don't use this journal every day, (preferring my trusty moleskine for that) or even every week. But I do find myself returning to it again and again.

Adding to old pages, painting backgrounds, and from time to time, making new ones.

 

Never really meant for sharing but more as a kind of therapy.

This journal is a good messy fun way of getting all those thoughts, feelings and emotions out:

Sometimes a way of playing with ideas and colours.

 

Not always pretty, but almost always satisfying. Why not give it try...?

No Sandwiches Please.

If ever a mother suffered! (Where does that saying come from?) For 6 weeks the girl has been a converted vegetarian.

 

Now I have nothing against vegetarians. Indeed I am the first one to stand up for the individual’s right to choose, in all aspects of life. I have vegetarian friends, and a niece, and have always respected their choice, never questioned their reasoning and accommodated them accordingly.

 

When DD3 text me to ask, “what’s for dinner and make it veggie ‘cos I am now”, I admit to being a bit peeved. After all, the shopping was done, and meals were planned, and I told her as much. After a few days though I accepted that, for now, this was what she had to do. Fully expecting it to be a ‘phase’, short-lived and quickly forgotten.

Wrong. Six weeks on and we are still going strong. As there’s just the two of us I am playing along; too lazy to be bothered fixing two different meals. I have grown accustomed to veggie sausages, lots of fish, eggs and cheese.

 

To be fair, the only type of meat she ever really enjoyed was bacon sandwiches, (who doesn’t) and milano salami, and has taken cheese sandwiches to school absolutely forever; refusing all alternatives.

 

So every morning like a dutiful mother, I am at the kitchen counter preparing cheese sandwich, apple, cake & crisps for my little darling’s lunch box.

Today, just before leaving she tells me,

“Don’t make me any more sandwiches. I can’t be bothered with them and only throw them away.”

 

{Calming deep breath} “So what would you like for lunch, love?”

Replies, “I don’t know. Just something quicker and easier to eat than a sandwich.”

 

{Another deep breath} “Okay dear. Have a good day.”

 

{Smile. Kiss. Close door. SCREAM}

Remembering Dad.

Two days – two posts. Whoa!!! Look at me!!

Better news on the computer front. Seems all that was needed was a re-start and a service pack update. It was probably more my fault as, rather than go through the whole shut down, log off nonsense, I do tend to just send it to sleep. Everything's looking a little livelier now, thank goodness.

So, just quickly, and as promised, another lo. (Told you I'd been busy!)

I didn't really have much to do with this one to be honest. Some pages I can agonise over for hours, sometimes even days, and they never really turn out even half finished. Others are more a matter of working through a process of selection; lovely papers, pretty embellies, relevant journaling etc. Just occasionally I put something on a page with no thought, and it just comes together. For me, this 'auto-pilot' scrapping has to be the best…

 

Here, two pieces of card, a splodge and smear of white gesso, a couple of bits of paper and some printed journal strips. Done.

The little card on the bottom has been in my purse, along with this photo, for quite a few years now. A precious (if slightly out of focus) snap of Dad and a very young me, many, many years ago.

   

Getting this on a page and safe in an album has made me happy.

Poorly ‘Puter

Oh dear seems my computer is very sick just now. Not being very technically minded, I have no clues as to what could be going on. Rather than springing to life, when I flip up the lid, it sort of emerges from a deep slumber, like a tortoise coming out of hibernation – ooh    s o o o     s l o w l y.

Slowly the pink tortoise. Heehee!!!

How frustrating when technology just refuses to work. I am getting a little sick of looking at it's meaningless messages (Not Responding). That is a response, after all, isn't it? Is it me?

I am hoping it's not a terminal condition and that it just needs a bit of tlc and tidying up.

On a brighter note, as every parent of teenagers knows, it's almost impossible to get their co-operation for a photo and so the ones we do get become all the more precious.

I was delighted to see this amongst some recent pictures at Mum's and couldn't wait to get home to scrap it.

Saturday morning found me all alone - Children all off doing their thing - and so time to get to it, and indulge myself with a little me time for some scrapbooking.

First on the agenda was to go paper shopping, naturally. LOL!  After all, I really needed a new herma refill and it doesn't hurt to look at all the fabby new goodies in the shops does it?

(If you think all I did was look, you really don't know me at all. Ha!)

But having got some new supplies, I got straight down to it.

So here they are DDs 1 and 2!!! I love this picture and was smiling away to myself all the time.

Please excuse the badly lit photo. Daylight is still a bit scarce here.

Basic Grey and Studio Calico papers with Making Memories trims and some Prima pebbles.

Lots of neat stitching on this which doesn't really show up in the picture, sadly.

I'm loving these letters from a Studio Calico kit, and already starting to look out for more.

...And yes, Adele's eyes really are that blue, and Steph really is as crazy and fun loving as she looks.

Love these girls so much.

Speaking of Studio Calico, what happened over there on Saturday morning???

Having gone out on Friday night, and having all morning to lay in bed if I wanted on Saturday, I set my alarm for 4.45, to be on-line in time for the kit reveal this month.

This is a rare treat, as usually I'm dead to the world at this time of day.

By 5.10am I was happily plopping add-ons and few other bits into my cart. By 5.20am when I went to check out, lots of stuff had just disappeared. Sold Out!!

Quickly grabbing what I could I paid and then went to check the message boards. It seems everyone was having the same experience and by 8am that morning everything was gone!

Amazing! The equivalent of a stampede in an on-line shop!

I did manage to get most of what I wanted, but there were a lot of very disappointed scrappers in the UK that morning.

So a lesson learned, hopefully by both the kit subscribers, and the SC team, who we can only hope will increase the stock levels of their lovely kits.

Just to square the circle, and make sure no-one's left out, here's the piccie of DD3 and yours truly that's been sitting in the side bar here, and on my hard drive, but nowhere else for a while.

One of our favourites from last summer.

Finally got it scrapped.

Journalling reads,

"So, now both the girls have moved out, most times it's just you and me. That's the down side.

And the upside?

Well, that is most times, it's just you and me!"

It may not be perfectly balanced, but I like the way this turned out. Particularly pleased with the dimension in this one.

More stitching and more SC and October Afternoon papers.

That's it for now, but more to share tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by...Sx