Sunday, September 30, 2012

Learn Something New Everyday

I did it, I completed the whole month with paper and glue and embellishments that have texture. I wasn't sure whether I could keep up to date. The other years I did it digitally and that is much easier to tackle daily, no photos to print out and pages more or less ready to go each day. I think my biggest learning probably is that I can do a page every day and sometimes more than one page.
Here are my last two pages, Saturday 29th and in keeping with the challenge to make Saturday a new skills day I found that I could paint metal buttons with alcohol ink and make them look almost like enamelled ones.

29th

as my pages are only 6x6 I was reluctant to use the buttons in the photo as they will enhance a larger page later, but I did paint another button which I have used here.

Today's page here records how chuffed I feel that I have a lovely book to look back at but how sad when something good comes to an end.

30th

I didn't have room on the page to record my thought so I put them on a tag and hidden them behind the photo

DSCF0207

My As seen today is this lovely tree, it always amazes me each year how this tree goes because it starts to change colour on one side and the other side remains green for a lot longer. I suppose it's because the other side is shielded by more trees.




Saturday, September 29, 2012

Beautiful Nature

It is so difficult to do anything well when you are feeling a bit down. It was an effort to even go out today, but as usual the walk down the back lane helped lift my spirit off of the floor.
As seen today just had to be this close up of a clover such details not noticed with the naked eye but so beautiful



I was having a little play with alcohol ink this morning and some metal buttons. Quite pleased with the effect, almost gives them an enamelled appearance.



I will use this for my Learn something new, but although I have done a page I am really not at all happy with it. I'll leave it and see what tomorrow brings.

Today I am grateful to the Lord for giving me so many lovely things to see on my walk today.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Little bit of this and a little bit of that

I did yesterday's page for Learn something new this morning, I was just too tired last night. It just had to be the conkers with there lovely glossy pattern. I learnt that even when there doesn't appear to be any reason for it except for our enjoyment God does the extraordinary. The patterns seem to have no benefit to the horse chestnut but God put them there anyway.

27th

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My toaster went wrong the other day, it wouldn't stay down so the only way to use it was to hold it down. This is a little bit inconvenient especially when I'm trying to cook a fried egg for breakfast. So a trip into town to buy a new one seemed a good idea. I also had run out of photo paper completely, (well I did have some 6x4 glossy but I really am not a lover of glossy, reflects the light too much).
I got my paper and it was buy any 3 and get the cheapest one free so have ended up with a 6x4 7x5 and A4 should now be well stocked up.
I did get a toaster too so all shopping done I phoned my son to see if he was available for a coffee. Yes he said give me a little while I text when I'm coming down.
Time to pop into Paperchase then, and I am a sucker for the cutsie, I bought these little pencil top roller stamps, and some pretty stickers too. (that's the trouble with having to waste some time lol)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I unplugged my old toaster and put the new one in it's place I thought I would just try it again before confining it to the dust bin and guess what...... Yes that's right it worked. So that is my Learn Something New for today. I should have unplugged the toaster and given it a shake and replugged it in and tried again all before spending money on a new one.

28th

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love taking photos of my cats and tonight it was Rudi's turn and he is my As Seen for today



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today I am grateful for a Son who finds time for me.
and for getting the extra photo paper

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Random items

It's Thursday morning and the alarm goes off at 6.30am I dress half asleep, the only day I actually get dressed before having a cuppa.
It's the sale at the church on a Thursday and today it's going to be different. The decorators are in painting the main part of the building so we can not use that at all, we need fine weather as the stalls will not be able to be rushed in if the rain comes. Praise the Lord he always know what is needed and the weather has been brilliant. People rallied and we served coffee and tea in one of the upstairs rooms had the stalls out the front as usual and the clothes and odds and ends that are normally indoors we had out the back of the church. Normally that area has cars on it but not today. We still managed to take over £100

The sky this morning early well 7.30ish was not all that promising but worth a photo if only on my phone camera.


I had made up several kits complete with photos to take away for our scrapping retreat next weekend but I was itching to use at least one of them, so difficult to have them there waiting. I succumb and here is what I did

What have you seen Muffin

I had run out of 'f's so I carefully cut the waste part from the sticker sheet and used that
DSCF0157

Tonight I've had a curry from the takeaway across the road, yummy but the beef was a bit tough, which reminded me that is the reason I usually have chicken curry.
Coming back into the back lane with my dinner I found lots of conkers still in their outer shell, there is no horse chestnut around that area so someone must have dropped them. Bringing a few home I opened them up and aren't they beautiful when newly hatched. Like polished wood



Not even thought about Learn something new yet but will not post that until tomorrow at the earliest.

today I am grateful to the Lord for the fine weather
for everyone pitching in and getting the sale underway


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Association of ideas

On the bus this morning I was looking a the nice gloves that I had picked up at the sale last week. Goodness knows why they were donated as they are as good as new. My train of thoughts went like this :- A pair of gloves, yes there are two of them so that's OK to call them a pair but why do we call ladies tights a pair of tights, they are just one garment. Perhaps it's because they superseded stocking and yes it's acceptable to call them a pair they come in twos. That then took my mind to Elizabethan times when men as well as women wore stocking and had garters to keep them up. Again my mind drifted back to when I was a cub leader in a Wolf Pack many moons ago and the dress code for the boys was strict, grey socks with turn down top and garters with green tags. Oh yes that was a memory from the past will have to find a photograph and do a layout of that. So from gloves to an old photo amazing where your mind will take you when you let it wander.



Photo of myself and my brother in 1957 goodness me I will definitely do a page using this and maybe if I can find any others I'll use them too. I've just noticed that one of us has their beret on wrong, bet it's me, being left handed I often get things round the wrong way. lol

Yesterday's Learn Something New page I did a photo heavy page about how a walk down the back lane I will never tire of

25th

I was pleased with the leaves on this page as they were originally petal from a cloth flower which I cut into to give a toothed edge and then inked and spritzed them with glimmer mist until they looked like Autumn leaves.

My 'As Seen' picture for today has to be my cup of Costa coffee served with love


and finally today's Learn something new (off prompt again lol but I just had to record this)

26th

today I am thankful for being indoors when the rain finally came.
for being able to return and get a refund on the magazine that I had already bought before.
And for getting a good price for my ticket to Birmingham for the scrapping retreat.



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Autumn in the lane

It has been a lovely day here in the South of England, it has been a real north south divide though as the further towards Scotland you get the wetter it has been.
After my two days of confinement I just had to get out it the air for a walk before the weather changed.
I took my usual route down the back lane ending at ASDA and of course Starbucks.

Along the way I saw signs of Autumn.
DSCF0109
DSCF0112
This red admiral stayed put for so long I was able to take lots of photos of it.
DSCF0118
The berries thick in the hedgerow and the ivy heads prolific this year, but no hops
DSCF0130
and my picture for As Seen today just has to be these two doves they made me think of the Christmas song Two Turtle Dove, (but no partridges in pear trees)


Such a lovely walk and then a quick nip into ASDA for bread and cat food, two essentials, then across to Starbuck to sample their new Pumpkin spice Latte, very nice, not too spicy but a lovely flavour, I'll definitely have that again.

Home again to do yesterday's Learn something new, all about provoking thoughts and as Helen asked me, only yesterday, if I would make up a little album for her of photos of her Dad (My John) so that the boys could see and that she could look back and remember, this was so right for the day.

24th

As I type the rain has arrived with a vengeance and it has gone very dark.

Today I am thankful for the lovely walk, for being fit again and for being indoors snug and warm now that the rain has come.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Learn Something New

I obviously didn't do anything on the 23rd see my previous post but I couldn't let the day go unrecorded so just a little cheating and I took a photo of me in bed this morning, and here is the resulting page

23rd

it's also doubled up for the weekly challenge on UKScrappers, criteria is to use one two three four five and six of something
so mine is One photo, two words in the title, three patterned papers, four lines of journalling, five tiny buttons and six eyelets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My As Seen for yesterday can only be



Today the weather has been pretty abysmal rain rain and more rain, but by late afternoon the sun came out briefly so I took the opportunity of getting some photos of Rudi in the sun.



I've not been able to eat much today as my tummy is still not really right so it's been dry toast and oxo for me all day. Still perhaps this will have kick started my diet, should have lost some weight surely

today I am grateful for feeling so much better, for being able to scrap and for having a long chat with my daughter.

Very Poorly

I was very poorly yesterday, had a bug of some sorts but very violent so didn't post anything but I had done a Learn something new page for Saturday and also the Counterfeit Kit challenge neither of which I photographed till this morning.

The CFK challenge 2 was to take inspiration from a favour character in a book or film which stumped me for a while then I realised I do have a favourite TV programme which I seemed to be addicted to even to seeing the repeats of repeats. Poirot, I love the character and I love the programme so here is my interpretation of it.
My John
Poirot is a very dapper slightly portly gentleman, John was certainly portly and did like to dress smartly.

the design comes from the opening titles


The buttons are made from kraft card and heat embossed. they had to be square as Poirot didn't like curves everything had to be exact and crisp cornered.

and the end titles I used for the title tag and embellishment
DSCF0093



can you see the similarity?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
for Learn something new I went off prompt again just sharing my thoughts on what it means to have someone to go for a walk with

22nd

I'll catch up with myself when I feel well enough to sort out something for Sunday's Learn something new.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

As Seen - x3

I have had a very pleasant afternoon, I went for a walk through Seven Fields with a friend, we chatted and laughed and I took photos, unfortunately Lisa can't see them because she is blind but she doesn't mind me stopping every now and then to capture what I see.
I was a little early for our meeting so had time to take some photos before and I couldn't resist this one being my picture for the day.


I called out to them "what a super bike" and the elder child very seriously said "The extra bit you have to fix on it isn't part of the bike".

The conkers are ripening and ready to fall




As we came out of the wooded part into a clearing we had an unexpected find an Orchard with a wrought Iron gate so I just have to have another As seen for today





I was determined to get a photo of the pair of us and finding a convenient raised man hole cover (I think it is part of the sewerage system by the smell) I propped my camera, set it on timer and here we are




We were out for about an hour and a half, I thought we had got lost at one stage but have come to the conclusion that it just isn't possible to get lost in Swindon because there is always a road that will eventually lead to somewhere I recognise, and of course I did find ASDA and a Starbuck was the perfect ending.

My third As Seen? Well I had forgotten post yesterday's one so here it is, a close up of a variegated leaf covered in hairs growing rampant in my garden



I do have a page to share taking up on a tutorial from Glitter Girl Shimelle to use a border paper in a different way. This paper I've had for a long while it originally had a red edge to it and in my opinion just didn't look right so I cut that off then cut the whole now shaped paper into 4 section and inverted them ie border in the centre, though I've only use two part in the end.

Whiskers aquiver

I haven't done my Learn something new yet may have to catch up with that tomorrow

Today I am grateful for a friend who will phone me to go for a walk
for sunshine and chatter and a surprise find.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Learn Something New - Chocolate & Monochrome

I was so tired yesterday that I just couldn't think what I had learnt, in fact I still don't think I had learnt anything but I had enjoyed a chocolate feast so I went with that thought for my page

20th

strangely enough it almost fits the thought for today's challenge which is to allow yourself a 'do again day', a day that goes wrong, we pick ourselves up and start again the following day. I also had a little play to make the book page rose.

Today I read how we have our own style, in scrapping, in the colours we like and therefore how we dress. Well my style of scrapping is monochromic or at the best 2 colours, and I find it very difficult to break away from that. I also have trouble scrapping in my favourite colour Purple yet I wear it a lot, I love wearing it, it's a rich royal colour and I feel regal in it, so why can I never scrap in that colour? all I can think is that I can't find any papers I like printed predominately purple, well that is my excuse anyway. So my page for today is monochrome in shades of sepia, I even turned the photo of me sepia and cut me out from the background (that is something new for me). I really had fun with this.

21st

Today I am grateful to the two, no three nice drivers that stopped to let me cross a busy road (twice).
I'm also grateful to having a takeaway fish and chip shop 2 minutes from home.

Scavenger hunt roundup

Today is the last day of Summer or as I would rather think of it as the first day of Autumn (officially)
That means though that the Summer Scavenger hunt that Rinda organised is officially over :( I so enjoyed finding all the items and I did find them all, sort of, :D

So without further ado here is my collage of all 21+bonus items

1 - 8
9 - 16
17 - 21

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Ramblings from a tired mind

19th

I didn't finish it till this evening and now I have to think what on earth I have learnt today?

Today has been busy, the usual Thursday morning sale up at the church. Jeremiah was with us this week, over from Mombasa, so we had a shared meal afterwards. By the time I got home at about 2ish I felt that tired and exhausted that all I could think of what having a snooze, and this time in bed. I did dose for about an hour and a half but I had one cat on my chest one beside me on the bed and the other on the floor. Not as restful as it could have been. Not sure that there is a lesson there.

First of all I never tire of taking sky photos this one taken this morning at 8 o'clock
and is my 'as seen' picture for today


secondly with Jeremiah over several of the folk who come regularly to the sale wanted their photo taken with him. So I was official photographer for the morning. I did try and take myself with Jeremiah not sure the result is all the at good but at least it is a record of the day


why do I always look so strange when I take myself while holding the camera?

This evening I tried to take photos outside at dusk, not very successfully but at least I tried.

Best of all how about this still life yummy

I've discovered this lovely ginger one and will have to get it again real pieces of ginger in it.

Today I am thankful for Friends, for Hobbies, for being alive.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

COFFEE

What does the word coffee convey to you. I love coffee, I love the mugs I use for my coffee too. I think the word COFFEE with its double 'f' and double 'e' conveys the satisfaction in a drink of this dark tasty brew.
I just love to savour the expectation of this drink, as I pour the hot water onto the ground beans, the aroma that hits my nose makes my mouth water in anticipation.
I know that every time I go into town I will find myself at a coffee shop very soon, I'll order my favourite beverage and sit and enjoy it's special taste.
I like different ways of having it in each shop, in Starbucks for instance I like a Mocha with cream on the top but it must be a strong coffee one. In Costa I want a cappuccino with a sprinkling of chocolate in the shape of what ever stencil is the current one in use. In Nero's it is Americano, I think mainly because Neil introduced me to that coffee house and he invariable has Americano.
When I am at home I add CoffeeMate to my mug before I pour out the drink from my cafeteria, that gives it a lovely creamy taste without making it too cool.

After writing all that down this morning, I thought it would make a great fun page so here is the result.

Coffee

The blue flowers were a happy accident, they should have been pale coffee colour, I brushed them with Walnut distress ink and thought they could do with having a shine so placing them on my messy play tray I spritzed them with pearl glimmer mist, but there was some very old blue on my tray which came back to life with the onslaught and seeped into the petals, and I rather liked the effect so made sure each petal had some blue picked up from the tray.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was shining as I walked down the back of my bungalow and looking back through the camera lens I got such a sense of well being. The vista seemed to convey 'home' to me in a new way, as if the arms of God were around me.



I had forgotten to put my 'As seen' page up yesterday but it just had to be the juicy blackberries



Today I am thankful to God for giving me Joy
for the feeling of well being that has remained with me for the rest of the day
A place for me to put the pictures of layouts I have done that I am pleased with, to put in the poems I write and to add snippets of things that have caught my eye