April is here - 99 Things Challenge - A Scrap Page

Hello all Blog Friends!

April is here... we are 1/4 of the way through the year and it's still freezing (ha ha!).  Looking forward to Easter and maybe a little more sunshine soon.  I hope everyone survived April Fool's Day in one piece!

Well, here's a challenge! I found this on Jo's blog (from Sian and various others too!). Thought I'd have a go... mind you many things are more likely for those who live in USA, as the distance from here is a bit prohibitive!

The things I have managed to do are in Blue.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyWorld - well Disneyland Paris.
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (not likely!!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - bookbinding (still learning!!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - several on a trip round Scandinavia
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb and fed it!
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (what is a home run?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (well now, we don't have many of those in the UK or Europe!)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started your own business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - do Scouts' Hot Dogs count - we don't have Girl Scout Cookies here!
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - well there is always a reason, but it was no special event
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - a zillion years ago when I was a poor student!
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - well I made a crochet bed-spread!
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - made redundant (along with all part-time staff in our office...hmm...)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - but I'm working on it!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car - yay! last year at Christmas!
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - I was 11 years old..
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - when I was 23 - I was sooo ill!
89. Saved someone’s life - I think so, as I gave first aid etc90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee - does a wasp count - one hid in my slipper last year... owwwww!

Hmm, that's 37 out of 99.. not bad, but maybe it's time I was more adventurous!


Lastly, I wanted to post some pictures of this layout I made yesterday evening.  This is the first scrap layout I have made in ages - I've been too busy with so many other things!

In March I joined in Shimelle's Something from almost Nothing course, but only managed to make some essential greetings cards.  This layout has made a bit more of a dent in my scrap stash!

A layout to celebrate my huge package, which arrived on 24th March.

find Megan and Jake's Blog here

a little fawn rub-on, to go with the fawn headband

...tied up with string...

the title is a mix of mini-letter stickers, felt alphas and foam letters

A pocket to hold the lovely message card that Megan and Jake sent with the parcel.

SI Lives!

Well, this morning has been busy, with a "top-up" visit to my osteopath and J's end of term awards assembly.   All the children get a certificate to recognise any special effort or achievements during the term. J. doesn't always agree with the school's opinions (as he said last term - "But I have worked very hard and done my best in Every Subject!). By the look of his face when he received his certificate today, there were several subjects on the list, so that's a cause for celebration.

Then I signed on to check my e-mails, while I ate my lunch.  There was an e-mail to say that This will hit the shelves in the shops today!

Photo courtesy of Shimelle

Like many others, I was so disappointed to learn that Scrapbook Inspirations were printing no more magazines after last December - not least because they were due to print a commission layout of mine in the March 2010 issue, which of course has not appeared.  They've hung onto the commission, with the intention of featuring it somewhere in the future, but I was still very sorry about it.

However, I answered a call for submissions, from Shimelle and was lucky to have one of my layouts selected for publication in their new Quarterly Book, Issue 1.  I'm quite excited, as this is now my first published layout (in a paper format anyway!).

We're allowed to put "sneaks" on our blogs, but not the whole layout just now....

So, a couple of "Sneaks" to pique your curiosity...

Go and buy yourself a copy of the book - it sounds fab! To find out more, take a look at Shimelle's blog post.

Have a good day!

A Sunny Sunday in Springtime

Yesterday was definitely a Spring Day!  The clocks changed overnight, then the weather was really nice - if a bit changeable.  I intended to take a walk in the middle of the day, but it was very overcast and threatening rain, so I gave it up.

But at 4pm it was warm, sunny and lovely, so out I went, with J, who was complaining of a headache - having spent his day on homework, drawing, computer game, more homework, writing, more computer.  I thought the fresh air would do us good - it certainly did. We walked to the river and had a really lovely time.

J. going along the footpath to the big field

Walking across the big field to the river

(J. always has to collect a stick!)

View across the big field, to the village

A lovely cedar tree

The church, seen along the road from the river bridge

The road bridge across the river

The weir, upstream from the bridge, with fields beyond

The bridge, seen from the weir

Happy in the sunshine!

That's my little photo album. We really enjoyed our walk and had a good appetite for dinner when we got home.  J. forgot he'd ever had a headache!

* * *

And....

Today, Deb has posted about her Giveaway Prize, which has arrived safely.  I thought it would be ok now to put up a couple of photos of the pink felt book, with its new closure, that I added for Deb.

These were the original Prizes (Sian won the brown mini-notebook)

I added a flower with a silver button, attached to a ribbon tie closure.

Here it is closeup

and this is a view of the back cover, where the other ribbon is fixed on.

I thought about "tidying up" the back, with another button or by tucking the ribbon through a slit in the cover, but in the end I thought it looked quite nice like that, so I left it alone.

Deb is pleased with her prize - so I'm happy!

I hope to make a little tutorial soon, to show how I make the paper flowers I sent to Deb (and have in my Etsy shop).  They're lovely and easy, but look very pretty. There is a 4 and 6 petal version. I will try to get this set up soon, with some good photos to illustrate it.

Have a good week, everyone!

The Best of Dads!

Hello all Bloggy-type friends! It's Saturday again.

I have the day to myself, which is unusual and rather nice for a change. I plan to work on the commission for LittleRose soon, but first I'm "blogging".

My DH has been away this week, in Sweden again.  He set up our laptops with Skype software, so we could have free phonecalls and video calls. This has been great, as we talk each evening "face to face". It also means he can stay in touch with J. and talk to him about his day. 

This week there were problems with the Internet connection at his appartments, which means the link was down in the evening, after about 6pm.  D. came up with the idea of "Skyping" at around 4pm instead, after J. got home from school. 

He also had a very good idea for him and J. which has made J. a happy boy...  They both have sets of "Warhammer" models and play games with them.  For the uninitiated majority, "Warhammer" is a fantasy gaming set-up, like a modern version of the old toy soldiers.  It's popular with boys in their tweens and teens, also with a number of adults (mostly male).  J. got very keen on this about 18 months ago and D. has acquired a set of models too, so he can join in with J. and help/support his hobby.  They build and paint their models together and play games, both at home and at the local Games Workshop, when they can book a big game table for a morning/afternoon/day. 

D. had the idea that we could set up a small board in my Studio, with some of his models (that he chose and J. fetched out of the box) and an army of J's stuff too.  They would play a Game, one move per day (note that this is not like Monopoly, where you throw a couple of dice, move your piece a few squares and maybe follow some instructions on a card you pick up, or buy a property etc).  Each move takes about 30-40 minutes, so it's quite good to do one a day.

Aerial View of the Battle so far!

J. has a Plan for his next move... he hopes to beat his Dad! 

At the moment, they are about even, so we'll see what happens next time!

Meanwhile, this sits on the floor of my studio. It's not too big, being a spare shelf for my new wardrobe, so about 1m x 50cm.  Still, it's made us clear up some of the clutter that had collected and made me keen to hurry up and get the sofa-bed I want to put in that space!

I think D. is a wonderful dad.  He thinks of great ways to keep involved in J's life, even when he is hundreds of miles away.

I love you my dear! xxx

A Surprise Ring of the Doorbell

This morning I was working up here in my studio - I love typing that word - it's almost finished now, you know! ... anyway... there I was, working away on the commission from LittleRose.... (Mum's a lot better and I have some time to work.. so happy!)

"Ding Dong" (yes, our doorbell does make the traditional sound).

Downstairs I went... (cue that music from "Mary, Mungo & Midge" - remember them? - for going down in the lift)...

This is what the Postman gave me!

My initial reaction was "Good God!" (sorry Lord...) as it was such a huge parcel.  Also I hadn't ordered any stuff and couldn't think where it could be from.  I made the postie check it really was for me.  There had been a card through the door yesterday, to say they'd tried to deliver something when I was out, but I had forgotten about it.  Then I saw the name "Megan" on the sender label and remembered...

So, having lugged it upstairs (cue the "going up in the lift" music!), I set about opening it up.

Sneaky peek inside... oooh...

This is what was inside the parcel:-

My Prize from a Giveaway at Nerdnest's Blog

I was a bit stunned to have won the giveaway, which they set up to celebrate their 75th Blog follower (along the lines of "Any Excuse for a Celebration" I think, hee hee).  To tell the truth, I had forgotten about it (mostly).

I am very humbled by the generosity of some folks.  These guys are students, working hard at college.  They have a dear little girl and a lovely loft appartment in Kansas City.  They seem to be lovely folks and put such interesting posts on their blog. I've been following them for a while now and really enjoy the regular posts - such as Music Monday - a playlist on a theme, every Monday, reports about their Life in the City and fun updates about the finds they unearth at second hand shops (thrift stores) and antique/junk shops, which they post in their fabby little Etsy Shop.  

Also, Megan has an artistic bent and likes to make fun and funky things - like that altered notice board above. If it wasn't that postage from USA is sooo expensive (hold that thought!), I would be a regular customer of their shop.  I find so many items I would love to own, but it's just too expensive to have a filing cabinet, bookcase, or even an old record stand to use for my 12" papers, shipped from Kansas.

And to return to the postage... these folks cheerfully sent this fabulous parcel all the way from Kansas to me in UK, without any comment about the phenomenal cost of posting it! I just hope it didn't mean they all had to eat baked beans on toast for 3 weeks....

Thank you so much, Guys!

So, more detail about what was in that bountiful parcel.....

Here is a closer look at the lovely Notice Board.

See the hand-painted trees, each one different; and the lovely birdies, attached at various points; and the fun border of wonderfully dotty fabric, with the raw edges and overlaps... all kind-of "hand made it by myself just for you".  I think it's great.  I will have to fight to keep it, as J. already expressed an interest when he saw the original prize post on Nerdnest blog!  It's Mine! He can't have it!

I will find this a special place on the Art Wall in my Studio.  The question will be whether I ever use it as a notice board, because it's too cute to cover up!

A large piece (3/8 yd) of this lovely fabric, called "Midnight Kisses", by Heidi Grace. 

 

A hand made Fawn Hairband, by Megan, for Nerdnest.

Get your own just here

A cool Bridge Score Pad - perfect for some Scrapping!

A Polaroid I-Zone, mini-photo instant camera, with some film for 6 photos.

I don't know whether to keep it in its pack for ever & ever, use it (and could I get more film...) or give it to a certain person I know, who loves cameras... must think it over a bit more.  It's such a cool gift!

And talking of scrapping...

A bit of plum-coloured yarn and some fabby tape, used to stick the parcel.  I must salvage some of this and use it for a great layout - I wonder what I could scrap about... duh!

I'm a bit overwhelmed by this amazing present.  These are people I only know a little, through blogging, and have never been lucky enough to meet.  Yet they have set up this fab giveaway and sent me such a wonderful treat.

I feel very blessed today.  There are some great people in the world. I so wish everyone could be so nice, then we'd all get along so much better.

Once again...

Thank you Megan, Jake and Eli!