Well I am certainly having a lot of 'firsts' this week!! Now I have been 'tagged'. From what I can remember this is a bit like being tagged in the playground at school.......so I am 'it'. The lovely Karen from Charmed Cards and Crafts tagged me and it's all the fours. So let me think.........4 Places I have worked......Tesco. Started as a part time checkout operator and rose quickly through the ranks to become Out of Hours Trading Manager. I loved that role even though it meant working nights and would go back to it in a shot if I was younger, fitter and healthier.Ladbrokes. Another great job though this is going back (quite) a few years. This was another Saturday job which suited me down to the ground. I ended up running my own shop although on paper it was someone else. In those days you had to be 21 to run a bookies and I was only 19. I don't know if it has changed or not now.The Mill. When I left school my first job was as a weaver in one of our local mills. That was an experience! I worked with a great bunch of people but it was not my sort of thing and I think both me and the looms were please to part company!Loads of craft shops! Being a tutor and demonstrator I get to go round lots of different shops and on top of that I am privileged to play with all the new toys which come out!4 Places I've visited......Anglesey. What a gorgeous place. We have spent many a happy holiday on the beaches of this amazing little island. Holland. My scrapping home. Although flying is not my favourite thing to do, in fact I am terrified, I manage to get over to Holland at least a couple of times a year. I love Scrap-a-ganza. The atmosphere, the people, the teachers....they all make it a fantastic experience. Devon. I first went on the amazingly long journey down to Devon when I was about 8. There were no motorways then and it was a long, long drive. We travelled overnight and I found it just so exciting. My dad was not as impressed as he was shattered with being the only driver. We stayed on a farm but I can't remember exactly where. The weather was scorching for the whole two weeks and I got really badly sunburnt. We didn't 'do' sun cream much in the early sixties! I stayed in a room in the eaves with really sloping ceilings and you had to bend down to look out of the window! I will never forget it.Florida. Mmmmm well this has got to be my favourite place on earth especially with unlimited access to the theme parks. I just can't wait to go back next year.4 Favourite foods......Lots to choose from here as my weight will testify but I think I will go with chocolate, bread& butter pudding, honey roasted cashew nuts and a roast beef dinner.4 Places I would rather be....... This is easy......Disney, Holland, Anglesey or Devon! But preferably Disney!Now I am suppose to 'tag' four other people so here goes:Sam, Natalie,JemmAngela.
I just can't believe how the weeks are flying by. I'm sure it must be something to do with getting older. When I was young some days just seemed to go on and on and on. But now they fly past faster than a speeding bullet! And so we are back to another weekend!We are off out tomorrow night for the first time in ages and I'm really looking forward to it. As we are having a meal as well as a few drinky poos I hope I don't blow my weight lost from last week. I may not have told you but I have joined our local Slimming World group. A lovely girl called Vicky runs it. I spent last week stuffing my face with all sorts which did not seem much like dieting to me. So I was ready for a bit of a downer last Tuesday and I told Vicky that I didn't think I had got the hang of this red day / green day lark. However a loss of 6lbs shows I must have done something right. So there I was 'Slimmer of the Week'. I have never ever been that before! So I have done the same this week and will wait and see what Tuesday brings. You never know, this could just be the way forward for me to shift this weight!Anyway I am sure there will be plenty of time for crafting this weekend despite the odd bit of housework which needs doing. I also have a couple of orders left to pack tomorrow morning before the post office run. I've a couple of projects I want to work on this week so they should keep my mind off food.I must tell you, I have had so much interest in the calendar which I put on here the other day. Loads of people have been asking when the kits will be available. I am hoping that the chipboard will arrive this weekend so they should be on the site by Monday. I have also taken orders for some from a few of our 'non crafting' friends.I've been scrapping some photos of Samhara with her new nursery uniform on. She was so excited to start on her first day and seems to have settled in smoothly. I used some of the papers from my Scraproom kit for this layout and I also managed to fit in a hidden place, for more photos or journalling. You know how much I like my 'hidden' bits!
The letters were cut on the Expression and rather than use chipboard I cut each letter four times and stuck them on top of one another. I really love the effect it gives. It's not as prominent as chipboard but still manages to give a smashing 3d feel.The journalling, which hasn't shown up too well, is a short poem about going to nursery for the first time.
Anyway off to scrap some more. See you all later.
Well, it's finished! An idea I got from my friend Melanie Heaton, a very creative lady, was this gorgeous calendar which is just right for doting grandparents! Melanie used bookrings to join the months together but I thought ribbon would be better. The whole thing is double sided showing just 6 months at a time. 
Each 'month' measures 6 x 4 inches and I have used thick mount board covered with MM papers and added a small calendar. It is really then up to personal taste how much and what embellishments you add. The months are linked with a strip of ribbon which is then tied over with loads of other coordinating ribbons! This one is for my daughter's mother-in-law who luckily does not read my blog! I am in the process of making up a 'boy' one as well so I will show you that as soon as it's completed. I am hoping to make some kits up of the mountboard, papers, calendar and ribbons along with full instructions and get them on sale early next week. So watch out for them appearing! These are really fun projects to do and you end up with a stunning gift for someone special!
You find this in everyday life anyway but within the crafting community you would expect us all to be a pretty friendly bunch really. But not a bit of it! As usual there is always someone slagging someone else off for some reason. The latest craze which has come across from the US, (do we really have to copy everything they do??) is something called scrap smack. This is a blog where people can go to discuss anything related to scrapping and not have to give their name.Now, I myself, do not agree with everything which happens in the crafting world but am strong enough to publish my views under my own name. However I can appreciate how some people may feel safer going under the cloak of anonymity. Unfortunately some 'people' use this cyber safe haven to be positively nasty and vindictive about other crafters. I was sent a link the other day and I honestly could not believe the rubbish I was reading. Along with foul language and downright viciousness some people have really hit the depths. I'm sure their parents would be so proud of them! The (can't you guess?) anonymous person who started the blog also needs to take some responsibility for any hurt/harm caused. It is a total cop out to say 'I will not moderate this blog as I want you to be free to express yourselves' (or words to that effect). That is a quick way to find yourself in a court of law facing 'conspiracy to slander' charges! One thing to remember is that people are only anonymous to a certain extent. Once the law gets involved Google, Yahoo and everyone else will have no option to give the authorities the necessary information.
Anyway back to crafting! I have just finished a lovely project which I will photograph and put on here tomorrow. I am really pleased with how it has turned out.
Bye for now!
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of my blog! Yes, it's back. My old blog is lost in the eons of time so this is the phoenix rising from the ashes. I had a lot of requests to keep up with my blog but unfortunately there were too many things going on in my life at the time and none of them were really worthy of blog space. Hopefully I will do better with this one!
There are lots of things I want to chat with you about... both in my life and the crafting world but I will go into those in more detail later.
However one thing I must say is........SCRAP-A-GANZA. Yes, Helen and I are off there again in November. I really cannot wait. I just love having a whole weekend just for me with no 'home' interruptions. Helen has overloaded herself with classes again and is now trying to decide which to drop! I am doing the 4 part album and am really excited about it however the classes are early Saturday morning and early Sunday morning. This is not good for someone like me who likes to take their time in a morning especially as I will probably be up most of the night scrapping away and imbibing the odd bacardi. Helen really is a bad influence, you know! Anyway if you want a great weekend which is full of the most creative teachers around, inspiring classes, chatty friendly peeps and at a stunning price as well get over to www.scrap-a-ganza.com and save your place now. Honestly you won't regret it!
Anyway off to scrap now. I am in the middle of completing a mini book which I will show you later. It is so cool!
It's a DL sized cream card covered with some paper from BG Lily Kate range. The letters are triple cut from pale pink Bazzill using the Cricut cartridge Tear drop and there is some cute cream ribbon threaded through a couple of holes and tied in a bow. Quick and easy but filled with love and hugs!
The pocket at the top holds the story behind the pumps. I will get this posted off tomorrow with my orders as with another postal strike looming, (and this time for 6 days!!!) I want to get as much out beforehand as possible.
