Am I too old to change career again?

I have been looking at Sarah and Paul's wedding photos.......no not the ones I took. ( they are very mediocre!) but the ones the professional took. God they are amazing! Mind, I suppose it helps to have a gorgeously stunning bride and groom. There's not many traditional 'posed' ones but such a great mix of fun, romance, pomp, ceremony and laughter. I would put a link to the photographer's blog but I haven't had a reply from him yet. I am hoping to get my hands on some of them so I can scrap away til my heart's content! That will be so much fun. Scrapping with photographs like those is just a sheer pleasure. Anyway I will keep you posted!

Not much has been going on since the wedding. I think we have all had to take time out to recover from all the preparations! My lovely sister seems to have come through fairly unscathed from all the stress and strain of it all. She came round for a brew and a natter the other day and we had our usual few hours of much needed 'sister time' where we put the whole world to rights! We really should run this country, you know. LOL!

My shoulder is playing up again so I am sitting here typing with a TENS machine sending shock waves through my body......well just my shoulder and arm actually! It has been sooooo painful for the past few days I felt weary enough to go and see my GP this morning. He was as sweet as usual and avoided the use of the words 'older' 'old age' and 'years of use'. I really need to get over the fact that I am no longer a teenager and must accept the limitations of a more mature body. He also steered away from mentioning the dreaded scales although he did find my visit the ideal opportunity to take my blood pressure (which was perfectly fine by the way) and remind me that I need to have some bloods done. Oh well.

I have also been sorting out a layout and kit for my home page retailer's spot on UKS at the beginning of July. I have so much on over the next few weeks that I needed to get it organised. I am pleased that it is all done and dusted now and I just have to type up the instructions.

Next Friday Helen and I are off to Holland and I am beginning to get excited now. I just hope I can sort my shoulder out before then.

Family Name Book.

I must admit I had a great time on Sunday. The ladies (and gentleman) who turned up for my class were a joy to work with and we had a really fun time. I have had a lot of feedback saying how much they enjoyed themselves so that is good enough for me!

The class was really all about using your Cricut machine but I managed to get them all to go home with their own variation of this cute name book.



These are all the rage at the moment and you can often buy a chipboard version for many different words. However these can be a bit pricey and I think Bazzill cardstock is perfect for this job. Since the class a couple of people have asked about making them so hopefully you will understand the instructions.

My letters were cut with Platin Schoolbook font on the Expression at 31/4 size. I then cut exactly the same in a shadow font. If you have the smaller Cricut then you can use George and cut out at size 31/2 and again cut out the same in a shadow. Match the letters up and adhere them together.

If you don't have a Cricut then find a font on your computer which is suitable. There are so many to choose from. :) Print the word out in the colour you wish to use and then glue to card stock. (You could also print the letter out in black and use it as a template.) Cut round the letter leaving no edge. Adhere the cut letter on to a co-ordinating coloured piece of card stock and cut it out again leaving a small border all the way round. This has the same effect as the shadow font.

Cut out strips of card stock slightly taller than your letters and 12" long. Cut as many strips as you have letters. Adhere each of the letters to the right hand end of a strip and then cut the end shape of your letter out. However much you cut off is up to you. Just do whatever you think looks good.

Start to stack your letters on top of one another making sure that the one underneath is slightly farther out than the next one. (Think of them as steps.) The important thing to remember at this point if that the letter at the bottom will be on the longest strip. So your top (first) letter must be further in to the left than the left hand edge of the bottom strip. Once you play with them you will see what I mean. When you have them all laid out as you want it cut off the excess card, trim the top and bottom of the strips so they are all even. Don't cut right up to the letters, leave a little edge showing. Fix the left hand edge of the book with a bind it all, book rings or ribbons.

To make these books slightly firmer back each page with another sheet of card stock. This gives them loads more strength and you don't have to worry about cutting through chipboard.

Hope this all makes sense but feel free to drop me a line if you need any help. But most of all have fun!

All suited and booted!

Well the day finally arrived and the weather was just right..not too sunny to make the men undo their ties too soon but warm enough for the summery outfits chosen by all the women.

My niece, Sarah, looked absolutely amazing. Her dress and veil were a heavy lace and were just perfect for her. Her betrothed looked pretty gorgeous too although he was the most nervous groom I have ever seen. He was physically shaking while we were waiting for her to walk down the aisle. I suppose that is only to be expected for someone on the verge of committing their whole life to our Sarah. (Only joking Sarah!)

Andy offered to chauffeur them on the day in his Bentley and wore the appropriate head gear. I have heard that he did such a good job that he could make a career out of it if he ever decided to get a real job!

All our gang managed to do John and I proud by turning up on time, (there's a first!) and appropriately suited and booted, as my Dad would say! I asked our Paul to take a couple of photos of us all together and he did a cracking job. You can tell he used to be a professional. I think I may ask him to show me how to use my camera properly as I just keep it on 'auto' and click the button.

Here's the first layout from the wedding. All of us photographed together for the first time in years. Goodness knows when that will happen again! I may be biased but I think they all look amazing!

The reception was at Stanley House and went off perfectly. The few children who were invited ate a bit earlier than the adults and then went off into another room with a couple of nannies, a magician, a ball pit and a special toy box made especially for each of them. So as they were safely being entertained and having great fun we could all enjoy the meal and the speeches.

I felt really sorry for the Best Man and the Groom as they had to follow the Bride's Father's speech. Now our David has been speech making nearly all of his life and knows how to do a good 'un! As usual the old jokes were the best and I was glad to see he used a few that I have sent him over the years! But they both acquitted themselves extremely well! The live group were excellent and the girls from the 'hen night' performed the record they had recorded to suitably rave reviews whilst the 'stags' entertained us with air guitar to Status Quo. Our Adam even had his Grandma up dancing for the first time in seven years. A suitable job for the eldest grandson I think.

It was a really special day as Sarah is the first of all the 'cousins' to marry and after various conversations on the day she may be the only one as well. None of the other's showed the slightest interest although Kim did mention 2010 for her's but we will wait and see about that!

One thing is for sure...my Dad will have had a great time watching us all and I'm sure he would have been very, very proud.

A Grand Day Out.

Yes, just like Wallace and Grommit we have had a 'grand' day out! Over the weekend we drove down to Cambridge so William could attend an 'open day' for Downing College. Firstly I have to say that Cambridge is the most beautiful place. And coming from somewhere which is renown for it's stunning views and breath taking scenery I am an expert on these things! :) The town was lovely and the architecture? Well it was just amazing. Historic buildings looked so settled next to modern shops and with the river Cam not far away with it's punts and boats it was an idyllic setting.

William had a great time and we came away with load of information about the college and it's traditions. William fell in love with the college almost immediately and would have happily stayed there if he could. Now it is up to him to win a place there. He certainly fits all the criteria but will it be enough? We will have to wait and see. I can feel myself getting stressed already!

We took loads and loads of photos and I spent Sunday playing about with a double layout. It's back to my plain and simple style for this but I really feel the photos and the occasion warrant it.





Along with my love of hidden photos and journaling I have created a flap on the RHS layout which opens up to reveal more photos and some handwritten notes.

I really hope that William manages to achieve his goal in reading Maths there. It would be a real adventure for him and would suit him down to the ground. Watch this space.