Retreat - Road Trip

Oh yes, I'm STILL scrapping Road Trip 2008! I keep finding parts of the trip that I've not covered and need to be in the album(s).

Jerome was one of those places that we never intended to visit, but we needed a post office and this was where we ended up. We hadn't researched the place before we went, so we didn't know it was "America's Most Vertical City" and the "Largest Ghost Town in America"! One of the places we put on our (rather long) list of places to be revisited.



Leaving the Wigwam Motel after a night listening to the trains chuffing loudly by.

The tears were actually accidental. I tore the paper a few times when distressing the edges, so I used that layering technique to fix it and I'm quite pleased with it.

The last picnic before heading back to Las Vegas and the flight home.

Retreat - Christmas Layouts

The Retreat this year was brilliant. I only went from Saturday morning until Wednesday morning, couldn't stay away from Adam and John for any longer than that. I managed to get 26 layouts scrapped and it turns out the worst part of that is getting all their photos taken, edited and uploaded. So I've decided to do a bit at a time, in themes and not bother with all of them. There were a handful that I really didn't like. Mainly ones from about 9pm onwards!

All my Christmas layouts this year match. I'm using Christmas Wishes by Bella Blvd. This layout is being used for the March Monthly Challenge on UKS.


Adam unwrapping his very first Christmas pressie. This is also March Week One Challenge on UKS.

Retreating

The glorious hanging of our "Belles on Tour" banner that we created yesterday. We'll have to get T-shirts next!

Right. Time to get out of bed and get scrapping.

Test Mobile Post

Seeing if I've re-enabled mobile posting.

Vegas Baby!

My Teamie Sue gave me this piece of paper as part of our 12 Days swap. I've been looking at it and stroking it for ages, last week I decided to do something with it. Rather happy with how far one piece of paper can go.

Shimelle's Starting Points

Before Christmas I decided I would make a whole bunch of Xmas layouts all made from the same paper collection so that they'd all tie together and look good in my album. I chose Christmas Wishes by Bella Blvd.

Then I thought I'd get a head start on the layouts by using some of Shimelle's Starting Points. Unfortunately, by the time Christmas was over I realised that I hadn't taken many photos - well, heaps and heaps of Adam, but hardly any of anything else (like me and the rest of the family). The ones I did take really didn't match the papers AND the Starting Points weren't inspiring me.

Well, I didn't want to waste the papers or The Points, so here's what I came up with.

From this Starting Point. I GA'd all the chipboard pieces to make them shinier and more Christmassy.

From this Starting Point. I shouldn't have used the strip of penguins, they were awfully hard to work with and I don't know why I inked the edges in green. What was I thinking?!

From this Starting Point. This one is beginning to grow on me. The envelope is from my Valentine this year! Recycle recycle! I joined up a series of Adam-Unwrapping-Huge-Present and tucked them into the envelope. GA'd all the chipboard again - needs to be shinier.

I've printed off some black and white / sepia Christmas photos to make the scrapping of them a lot easier.

Wells-next-the-Sea

Did a spot more scrapping. Matching set, or should that be Companion Pieces? Yeah, that sounds artier! Used some new MME that I bought rashly in a sale. Been buying way too much stash in rash sales and then hoarding it because I have to time to stroke it, let alone scrap with it.

Anyway, I managed to get three layouts in a row done. I think it's easier to scrap a lot at a time once that first one is done, gets quicker.

Adam fell asleep at the harbour and missed his first possible glimpse of the sea. He also missed the crabbing and the fishermen bringing home the catch.

This is the first view of beach that Adam had. Not a bad stretch of beacf for your first time. As it was October it was cold and quiet, rather than baking hot with swarms of screaming kids... oh, perhaps he'd have preferred the excitement. I suppose I'd better get used to that sort of beach holiday in the future.

Finally awake and enjoying the view!

I've recently been inspired by the work of Marcy Penner. Lots of spritzing, blobbing, white space, using up those pesky asterisks, random buttons - beautiful.

iPhone Photos

This month I've managed to make four layouts. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore. In fact, as I'm trying to type this, I have a baby climbing my legs and tugging on my screen...

Anyway, I took some photos with my iPhone, just to make things a bit easier and to actually get something uploaded. How am I supposed to look back at my blog in the future if there's nothing for me to look at?!

I've used the most recent Quirky Kit for all of these.


My Mother babysat Adam and me when John went to America last year. We went to the Cambridge Folk Museum and I decided that I was going to have some cake, no matter what. The chosen piece was lemon drizzle, which Mummy tried and decided was too sweet...


She also passed judgement on the people, the establishment... and gave me an excellent title "This is Cupcake Country". I don't understand people who don't like cupcakes, my Mother is bizarre! :) She did like the cups and saucers, though, a very eclectic collection, which just had to be photographed.

Now going back over a year to November 2010. I have scrapped this event before, but I wanted another take on it for the new 2010 album I've started to put together. D-rings from now on, none of that awful post-bound malarkey.

Anyway, Maria and I on the London Eye and at Gabriel's Wharf. Photos expertly taken by Susi!

This kit is brilliant and these pictures are awful, not doing it justice one little bit. :( I expect I'll never get round to taking a shot of the fourth layout. I need more Time!

Gosh! Layouts!

I actually managed to make three layouts today. These two are from our trip to the Cotswolds at the beginning of last month. I used the most recent Quirky Kit along with some added extras.


We became very ill after eating dodgy cream teas, but it's very pretty and worth scrapping. I also finally used my new Artemio stamps for the first time.


We also visted Snowshill Manor, home of crazy collector Charles Wade. I love to hoarde stuff, but this place shows you what excessive hoarding looks like!

Learn Something New Everyday - whoops!

I'll get these caught up with one day!

Learn Something New Everyday - 8

"I've not stopped having emotional breakdowns, although I'm getting better."

Learn Something New Everyday - 7

"We're doing the right thing with Adam's bedtime routine and it's OK not to run a noisy hoover round him if it makes him cry."

Learnt that one at Baby Group sleep clinic. Also learnt how to shut up a snoring husband, but until we actually try it out I won't use it as an LSNED entry!

Learn Something New Everyday - 6

"Adam rolled over!"

OK, fair enough, that's really his LSNED not mine, but I'm using it anyway.

Learn Something New Everyday - 5

"Adam can sleep through John snoring like a light aircraft, but can't sleep through me whispering."

Learn Something New Everyday - 4

"Always buy the larger cotton wool baby balls. The smaller ones don't clear up large poos so well and you end up using twice as many."

Sorry about that one, but it's true!