A Birdhouse

Alternative B

I've spent a few weeks looking for a birdhouse. I knew I'd seen one. Recently. Very recently. Where was it?

I racked my brains. I walked to the park. To town. To play dates. I looked in all the likely gardens on those familiar routes. No.

Birdhouse. Definitely seen one. Saw one today. How did I manage that and not take the wretched things photo?

Got a teeny bit obsessed. Started talking to myself about it. Yep. Mad.

But it was worth it, because Adam was listening. He pointed and said "there!", which is impressive, because he doesn't use that word very often. We were sat at home playing Duplo and he was pointing above my crafting desk. Sure enough, in all its balsa wood glory, was a little birdhouse. Adam had in it a kids crafting set earlier this year and I'd put it away because he wasn't really into painting things at that time. It's sat there ever since.

We gave it a few coats of gesso and Adam started painting it with his favourite metallic purple paint. It'll go and live in their playhouse when it arrives later this year.

At least I finally found it.

 

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The Scavenged & the Unscavenged

Not that "Unscavenged" is a word, but I was becoming rather confused by what I'd found and what needs to be collected.

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town to be found

2. A garden gnome

3. Birds on a wire - bit of a reach on this one…

4. A group of tourists

5. A rack of post cards to be found

6. An urban street scene

7. A rural landscape

8. A tattoo on a person I've located my person, I just need to remember!

9. A bakery seriously?! I visit our baker weekly! Remember!

10. A photo bomb

11. A horn

12. A mascot I have a cunning plan…

13. A sunrise this won't happen :(

14. A parade

15. A juggler does it count if I'm the juggler?

16. A sign in a language other than English no holidays this year. Need to visit Wales!

17. A lamp post I need a better lamppost. I'm not counting this.

18. A water fall Cambridgeshire is so flat :(

19. A public garden

20. A bus with a picture painted on its sides to be found

21. A photograph of you with something representing the season ice cream time!

Alternative A: A kite, hot air balloon or blimp to be found

Alternative B: A bird house done, need to post this

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A Group of Tourists

I'm sorry, Sleepy Lady, I had to take your picture!

At the Natural History Museum, a few weeks ago. It was hot and SO busy, it's not really a surprise that Sleepy Lady couldn't take any more of it, there's no air conditioning in the NHM.

I suppose the actual 'group' of tourists is at the back, queuing up for the even hotter and more crowded dinosaur exhibit. You need stamina and the patience of a Saint to take that on. Turns out these are things that neither I, nor my children, posess. Rude Lady, I'm not sorry I had words with you.

I meant to post this at the same time as Horn, but I forgot.

 

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Photobomb!

Another one for the Scavenger Hunt. I managed to photobomb my own picture today. Beth was loving the playhouse with the upstairs at the garden centre today and was giving beaming smiles - unless I pointed my phone at her. So I started grinning like a loon to try and coax the grins back to life.

All I managed was this polite smile. Once I arrived home and looked at the photos on the iPad I now realise I'm in all of them. :(

Darn. I wouldn't have planned that.

 

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Urban Street Scene

#6 - Urban Street Scene 

Party time! Bit of an odd party, nothing much happens. The ice cream is good, though. Pistachio this year. :-)

Horn!

#11 a Horn

Hello, rhino!

Intriguing play date at the Natural History Museum last week. 

Gnome!

#2 - a garden gnome.

I found this little chap lurking on a window sill on my way to the shops today. There's a Buddha on the other side, odd combination!

I've also found my horn, urban street scene and a group of tourists. That last is so ridiculously easy in Cambridge in the summer, that I waited until I was a tourist myself before taking the photo. Unfortunately, my Cloud is being stupid and all the photos I took aren't transfering themselves to my iPad. I need a decent Blogging tool for iPhone.

 

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Thaxted Windmill

After a considerable absence for having children and starting Project Life, I'm finally doing a few more "proper" layouts.

So, I decided to go all out on this. Ink, stamps, glue, brads, chopping things up… it was fun!!

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Photo Scavenger Hunt

The items I've found so far for Rinda's Scavenger Hunt.

#3 A Bird on a Wire!!!! Me at Ickworth in the play area. If I find some better birds on better wires I'll change this entry. ;-)

#7 Rural landscape - at Thaxted Windmill looking out over the countryside. That hugely deformed tree is a mobile phone mast!

#14 A Parade - part of the Tour de France celebrations in Cambridge.

# 19 A Public Park - our local park that has just been given some new flooring. Adam is very happy about that!

 

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Test Photo Post using Blogsy

#17 Lamp Post - test shot of a lamp post to see if this new blogging technique works. I fully intend to get a more attractive photo of a post!!

 

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Test Post using Blogsy

I'm hopeful I can use this to make uploading photos to my blog easier. So it works using my iPad rather than having to get the Mac out.

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Photo Scavenger Hunt

A group of my UKS Teamies are taking part in a Photo Scavenger Hunt run by Rinda Ontiveros. As I'm putting these photos in my Pl album, I thought it was a good idea to resurrect my failed Blogger so my Teamies can see the photos too!

This is the list of items to find;

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)
2. A garden gnome
3. Birds on a wire
4. A group of tourists
5. A rack of post cards
6. An urban street scene
7. A rural landscape
8. A tattoo on a person
9. A bakery
10. A photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of photo; the lurker may have intended to disrupt the picture or may be doing it unintentionally, but the background lurker is a surprise to the photographer)
11. A horn
12. A mascot
13. A sunrise
14. A parade
15. A juggler
16. A sign in a language other than English
17. A lamp post
18. A water fall
19. A public garden
20. A bus (not a car, truck, lorry, camper or RV) with a picture painted on its sides.
21. A photograph of you with something representing the season (recognizing that the season will be Winter for our friends in the southern hemisphere). Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for anything on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: A kite, hot air balloon or blimp
Alternative B: A bird house

Rather Large Catch-Up Post

I've been busy sorting out  my albums, so everything is now in chronological order.  I now pre-prep my albums, I know what needs to be done and I know the order that it'll be inserted into the album. I begin by putting the right number of page protectors into the album along with a Post-It that tells me which event will be going into that protector and the date. If there was any ephemera to go along with the trip, then that goes in as well. Perhaps some notes about what journalling needs to be included, a rough sketch or a suggestion as to paper that might match. When the photos come back from the printers they go into the page protector. That way I have everything I need to hand. I don't have to scrap in order, as such, I just know what needs to be done.

These layouts start in May and work towards Jubilee weekend in June. There are two that I've not done yet, but I thought I'd better make a start on getting them uploaded.

Adam with his friend Molly, enjoying the swings. I used the most recent Quirky Kit for this one.  Also attempted a small confetti burst after reading this post by May Flaum during Camp Scrap.  Don't think I'm ready for a huge burst yet!

Then the Grandparents came to stay and we went to Audley End.

Adam had just learnt to walk properly the day before, so he did a LOT of walking that day. Plenty of opportunity to practice with a Grandparent holding each hand and a ball to chase.

I put my own kit together when the current QK ran out. I'm trying to shop my own stash at the moment, to save some money, but kits help me to scrap faster and I think this worked. This is a mix of current Basic Grey PB&J and some older stuff that I've been stroking.  Turned the scraps into herringbone, I love that technique, it's great fun to make!

And then we went on holiday to Norfolk for a long weekend.

Sheringham. We started there because we wanted to buy The Sun (augh!) to get the Lego figure of the day! Then we went for a lovely teacake, it was a bit windy and there was no babychanging. So we went off to the beach to find a nice sheltered spot to do him outside. Adam wasn't best pleased by the experience, but we bribed him with his very first bucket and spade. 

Same day we went to Cromer for lunch - a delicious fish and chip takeaway eaten by the seafront. We also tried to find some knickers. Turned out that I'd forgotten to pack any... no go. Spent the rest of the holiday washing out my pants. Ah well.

Thought we might go home via the beach.  That was a bit of a fail.

These two were made with the Quirky Kit. I have added a few bits and bobs. The second one is 8x8. I'm trying to do a few layouts at a different size.  Maybe if I only have one photo of an event, or it's related to a larger 12x12 that already tells the tale.  I don't want to waste my time telling the same story twice.

Felbrigg Hall. I didn't take many photos here and I had to save one to use in the Project 12 for June. Herringbones again!

 

Had quite a bit of shandy on this trip! So much so that it gets its own layout. Mmm...shandy. 

Blickling Hall. We'd been there on the first day, right before it closed, but as we're NT members abd knew we'd be going back, it was lovely to just go in and sit. That's a layout that needs to be made. These two are from the second visit when we were able to enjoy the gardens properly, although we weren't able to do the house. Nice ice creams there!

The second one is a (herringboned!) 8x8.

Adam was too little for the play-stag, but we'd certainly go back and visit in the future. Great place for a final picnic. Before we had time to catch our breath from the holiday it was time to go to Bristol for Jubilee weekend. I saved the red, white, blue and flag ribbon from the Quirky Kit for this layout - Adam and his Great Uncle Adrian. 

Adam wasn't impressed by breakfast... 

On our way back home we stopped off at Butterfly World. Adam was terrified by the butterflies! 

Had fun on this one. I used the Butterfly World flyer, chopped it up and gessoed it. Nice and painty and inky.

Adam at 11 Months

I don't think I've taken photos of this series of layouts, but here's the one for his eleventh month.

 {Trip to Cambridge Botanical Garden with Mummy and Nana}

 

I've decided to do his 12th month as a double and have also realised that his 10th month hasn't been done yet either. As I only bought a limited amount of these papers I thought this one had better me rather minimalist so I don't run out in the middle of the final layout! 

Besides, this was very quick to scrap and get in the album. At some point I'll take photos of the rest.

Thanks, Crate.

Here is the Crate Paper mid season release, Little Bo Peep. Why am I linking to Baby Girl papers?
No. No girls expected!
There's one page I want. Just the one. This one:

See? Down there in the corner? Little girl with Panda. MY PANDA!!!

Now I have to buy a sheet of baby girl paper. :(