52 in 10 - The First Entry

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I hope I can manage to keep this one up, rather than the Scrap Like You Mean It thing!

Stacey Towers 2 Hearts kit

Brr!

To Write - I would have to say that the significance of light at the holidays is so that we can see. If there wasn' t any light during the holidays we'd all spill cranberry sauce down our fronts. Not that anyone could see that we'd done so, because it would be dark.

However, today I do have a story that involves light. I read it today over on The Onion where they are featuring the Top Ten Stories of the last 4.5 Billion Years. The first is a very cute tale narrated by a Trilobite, but the best is Number Five: Sumerians Look On In Confusion as God Creates World.

"I do not understand," reads an ancient line of pictographs depicting the sun, the moon, water, and a Sumerian who appears to be scratching his head. "A booming voice is saying, 'Let there be light,' but there is already light. It is saying, 'Let the earth bring forth grass,' but I am already standing on grass."

"Everything is here already," the pictograph continues. "We do not need more stars."

To Photograph - I've already taken pictures of my tree lights and used them on previous days.

To Do - Get to work and back without landing on my arse. I managed to do that, my colleague wasn't so fortunate and came a cropper on her elbow. Ow. I also had to do some non-Christmas food shopping as we'd forgotten the other days this week when we still need to eat. Vegetables and healthy fare right up until Friday.

To Make - A real layout from paper that has Squat to do with Christmas. Part of our Inter Team Mojo Jar Challenge, this will have it's own post.

One of the Bosses brought in his own grit to grit outside our office!

Bird Watching

To Write - Didn't we already do this one? *scrolls back to check*

Yep. The Eighth was all about a inherited holiday-related item. I said then and I'll say now that no such item exists. My things are all too new and the old items love with my Parents.

To Photograph - No item = No Photo.

To Do - Stay in out of the cold! Clean the en suite, change the guest bedroom bedding, hoover everything (Die, Dust Bunnies! Die!), help John with his guft wrapping

To Make - Present pile tags for Mike & Vicky.

As today has been another bust as far as prompts go, I shall just write about today. It's cold. It's icy. The bin froze closed. However, the sun was out and so were the birds. Heaps of them all over our bush and after our berries. Taking photos of them all is pretty impossible, so I just Googled them to use on today's layout.

I'm chuffed to bits that we have Long-Tailed tits! They are so adorable.


Wrens! Squee! They're so teeny.

The snowman is now at an extremely jaunty angle, but we reckon he's frozen stiff now and probably won't fall over - famous last words!

Stitched circle by Stacey Towers.

Weekly Challenge - Pumpkin 2009

I went digital this week. Doing the Holidays in Hand thing has really put a crimp on my paper mojo. So this is:

1. A scraplift. I've chosen to scrap this layout by Debbie on UKS. (if you're not a member you won't be able to see the Gallery, sorry about that!)
2. Stitching - digital stitches.
3. Scraps. Well, that one is a bit tricky as a digi, so I've chosen to use Scrap Girls freebies as they are all individual pieces and aren't part of a set or a kit.

Thanks for the great challenge ladies!

Stitching - Stacey Towers
Gold Leaves - Bon Scrapatit
Everything Else - Scrap Girls Freebies

Work-Do Day

To Write - I can't really write on a public blog what I'm most excited to give! The person might see it! I can write that I was excited about the Secret Santa that we had at our Work Party today. My colleague seemed happy with the Jeep I bought him:


and I had fun with my Santa Marionette:

Once again, I am tradition-free when it comes to parcel wrapping. However, John is very good at the bows-and-ribbons thing, so since I've been with him I try harder with my parcel wrapping.

To Photograph - Oh, good grief! Another day when I've already taken this picture, see The Fifteenth for close up parcels and above for photos!

To Do - Prepare for tonight's party!

To Make - Merry! Again! ;)


Our deely-boppers play Jingle Bells!
Ric rac by Stacey Towers.

The 15th

To Write - I think we know me well enough by now that all I have to say to this is "Huh?!" I hope that Vicky remembers to make the mince pies, I hope that the turkey cooks, I hope that my Mother eats what's put in front of her, I hope I can eat chocolate without too much parental disapproval.

When I was younger I hoped for Lego and hoped that I wouldn't have to kiss Auntie Olive with the scratchy mustache (although I still hoped for the money I might get from her). These days I hope for Lego knowing I'll never get it and I am secure in the knowledge that Auntie Olive isn't actually an Auntie after all and I don't have to kiss her.

To Photograph - *insert photo of well-cooked turkey here*

To Do - Get hair cut, buy vegetables, make a Christmas playlist that is suitable for my parents, although not suitable for John's as it includes tracks by Elizabethan minstrel Dante Ferrara, and let's just say he's a bit bawdy at times (I've included track 29...)

To Make - Merry!

Took another pictures of the updated presents under the tree for this layout.

Lace by Stacey Towers.

We have Cake!

To Write - It has to be a real tree and it has to reach the ceiling! Luckily we have low ceilings . The tree this year looked so small at the Farm, but now it's decorated it looks huge. I think the tree is probably the thing I look forward to most at Christmas, well, that and stollen. As far as the Remembering sections goes, there are no rituals / traditions relating to the tree. Just buying it a present every year.

To Photograph - Well, D'oh. I did the Christmas tree stuff yesterday! So, no pictures today.

To Do - Buy the Cake, the Pudding and various bits and bobs.

To Make - a few tags and an IOU card.

It's all getting very festive here!

Stitches & ricrac by Stacey Towers

Day Off

To Write - Another day and again I am at a complete loss as to what to write about. Perhaps it's the wording? "Holiday sights" implies sightseeing to me, like "Wow! Great Wall of China!", which was pretty impressive.

How that is supposed to be transfered to Christmas, I don't understand. Do they mean, "Wow! That turkey looks yummy!" or the sight of pressies under the tree? Perhaps. However, the Remember section asks about Holiday Sights from Childhood. The sight of my Father falling asleep after dinner? Although, strictly speaking that isn't reserved for either Christmas or my childhood.

I'm really failing at this Holidays in Hand thing, aren't I?!

To Photograph - "Something that delights your eyes" - Chocolate Santas!!!


To Do - stay home and recover from yesterday.

To Make - nothing more complex than dinner!


Backwards brad and glitter splash by Stacey Towers.

The Layout for Eighth

Stitching and Ric Rac by Stacey Towers.

Birthday Woot!

To Write - the sentimental decorations are all with my parents. One is a... erm... it's this Thing. Or Things... one bit has a leg missing, one is Comedy/Tragedy mask, one bit is clock with googly eyes. They all dangle off a ring on bits of string. It's really old, really small and really, really creepy. No idea what They are, but I've always loved Them.

To Photograph - no can do. Decorations aren't up yet. Christmas isn't allowed to begin until at least tomorrow. Besides, it's three weeks away for goodness sake! However, I can give you yesterday's picture today, my newest joyful possession:

Her name is Serenity, and she kicks ass, just like Serenity is supposed to. Oh yes, I have a gorram iPhone. Interesting...

To Do - Go out for birthday lunch and go shopping. Done!

To Make - Squat. It's my birthday. You should be making me things!

Remember - our decorating traditions involve finding a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and throwing all sorts of eclectic decorations at it. Also not decorating every room and every surface with as much tat as possible. Although this year our new hallway lights are sort-of asking to be tinsel hangers...

Backwards brad by Stacey Towers

December 2nd - not Xmyth yet!

Right. What does today's prompt have in store?
Well, that reminds me that I didn't take yesterday's picture!

I started to read the article yesterday and I didn't get too far as it didn't seem my kind of thing. I don't read those magazines full of perfect homes and certainly don't lust after a perfectly decorated house. My tastes are far too eclectic for that. At some point there will be pictures of this years tree and it will look as if someone has walked up to it with a box of decorations collected from the year dot and emptied it over the top... which is pretty much accurate!

I don't have any memories of making any specific recipe with an older family memory. I spent most of my time at Grandma's hiding in her tiny broom cupboard (I was very upset when I finally became too big for it) rather than helping her baking, but being in the broom cupboard was only fun when Grandma was in the kitchen! Didn't cook with Nanny either, but then we were too busy dancing round the kitchen like fairies or playing trains on the landing.

Once again, all I did today was go to work and the only thing I made was a paper layout. So that's pretty much the subject of today's layout:

I bought some cheap Laurence Llewellyn Bowen scrapping papers at the local outlet store. Generally they're awful with some dreadful designs, but after some distressing and inking a few of them aren't so bad.

"Something warm" picture to follow?

Once again, the bits that aren't HiH kit are by Stacey Towers.

Reindeer

The first Holidays in Hand layout

The ribbon is Stacey Towers Cinnamon Swirls kit. I expect I'll be using quite a bit of that kit on these layouts as it's so festive

Duxford 2009

Well, what with installing kitchens, doing assignments and entertaining my Father, I've not had much time to scrap. So I'm back to doing Weekly challenges the old-fashioned way... digitally!

This week had many elements. Stars, squares, blue, "white" space, celebration picture and birds.

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The celebration I have chose to scrap is my father's birthday. My present to him was to go to Duxford for both days over the Flying Legends weekend and watch the balbo flypast. The best part for him was watching the Focke-Wulf 190 flying as he'd never seen one in the air before. I've overlaid the warbird (see what I did there with the birds!) onto the layout.

I wasn't quite so happy as my favourite warbird, the Corsair, didn't fly this year. :(

Kit: Space Cadet by Stacey Towers
Font (the squares): Kfon

Forde Abbey Fountain

This weeks UKS Challenge:

Had to use the colour emerald, bling, poetry and movement. Obviously I can't make a movable digital layout, so I chose a picture featuring movement - a fountain.

Apple Spice Collab by Mel Haines & Charlie's Digiscraps
A Touch of Romance Collab by Vicku Parker & Stacey Towers

More from Melman!

Couldn't have been happier when Stacey Towers latest kit included a giraffe-print paper and some giraffe elements. I've not used them all up in this layout as I want to spread my Giraffe Joy. I did a colour overlay (lighten layer) on the giraffe print so that it would more closely resemble Melman's fur.



Circle of Life kit by Stacey Towers
Font - Pea Bitt Bitt

B for Barcelona

Digitally doing the weekly challenge! I love how this week the Font of the Week is Willow and actually named after Willow Rosenberg as well! Geeker Joy. :)


Monogram - B (for Barcelona and Birthday)
Something Foreign - Spanish cake in Barcelona & Stacey is from Colorado, so technically the kit is "from" America!
Complementary colours - yep
Scraplift from favourites - Debbie's Sprouts!
Distress - used distressed papers

Comfort Kit by Stacey Towers
Font - KingThings Willow

Park Guell

Had to go digi again this week for the UKS Weekly Challenge. It's just easier like this, what with the clutter everywhere and no space to do anything crafty.



Me, on my birthday in Barcelona last year.

A - Any new stash = not used this kit before
N - Notes / journallin = done
G - Glitter = the swirl is a glitter swirl
E - Embellishments = done
L - Lace = done
S - Sewing = done

Mon Amie Collab - Stacey Towers & Vicki Parker
Stitching - Designs by Nicola
Font - Lucida Handwriting

Patches

A digitalfor the current UKS weekly challenge:


Stamping, random alphas in the title, contrasting colours and 1 of something (a flower). All done.

I took this picture deliberately so I could eventually scrap it, forward planning! ;)

Summer Come Early Collab (including the P and A)
Stacey Towers & Mel Haines

t=Oodles of Doodles by AWP
c=You Don't Know Jack by Bon Scrapatit
h=Sweet Flora by Digi Designs by Nicola
e=Flowers for Mommy by Jennifer Fletcher
s=Life is Like A Box of Chocs Collab ~ Stacey Towers

Winter Happiness

Another layout for a challenge! This one is for the UKS weekly. The challenge was to scrap a winter picture with summer colours, to have stars and stripes to celebrate the new President (yay! This time tomorrow the world will be a better place!), stitching and a homemade embellishment. I've not made much digi stuff myself, but the button on this LO I made from scratch!

We went to Bath on New Years Eve for a bit of shopping and on the way home stopped off here at Sir Beville Grenville's monument to take some pictures of the wonderful frost formations.

Kit: A Little Sassy by Stacey Towers