Change of scene

Having changed my background and heading on here I thought it was about time I posted again.
Two days ago, the weather being good, I thought I would go for a walk/cycle. Someone had told me that there were some pretty gardens to see and photograph so taking my camera, as usual, and getting on my bike I went exploring. I never found the gardens but I found something probably much better, butterflies. In Severn Fields the grass was high and in flower also wild flowers abound perfect for the flutterers and perfect for me if I had patience to wait. Unfortunately I shouldn't have had my bicycle as there was no where I could prop it up so had to lay it down on the ground. Still I did manage to get these photos

Speckled wood butterfly



Comma butterfly



Adonis Blue Male (the female is brown though the underside is identical)

52 in 10 - A Holiday to remember

I am really enjoying this year long challenge even though there have been some weeks that I haven't been able to do. Week 28's challenge was to scrap a special holiday and this one was very special.
I have a friend from church who is in her 80's and she and I had a gorgeous week in the Isle of Wight in 2007.
I couldn't do the challenge justice with just one double layout so did four pages instead

Freebie

I thought it was about time I posted another freebie so here it is hope you enjoy it.
I have called it Across the Water, which is the name of a Christian music CD that I took the swirly pattern from.


and to show off this freebie I have done these layouts using it.

Freebie

Here is another freebie for anyone who would like it Dotty for you


also here are a couple of layouts I have done using the kit

Freebie

Here is a new freebie I've just created hope you like it. Sunrise



and the LO I did from parts of the kit

Swindon's Heritage The Railway

Yesterday as it was bank holiday and I really didn't want to stay in doors, I got on my bike, literally and cycled to the outlet village in Swindon. This has been house in the old GW Railway works, which closed in 1986 it is a grade 2 listed building and so has retain so much of it's original features, cleaned up of course but still a great place to take my camera and snap away.
I also decided that it was time I went into the railway museum, which I have never visited before although I have lived in the area for 31 year. I asked if I could take photos and was giving the assurance that as long as it was not for commercial use that I could snap away to my hearts content. What a wealth of interest is there, with wax figures so lifelike that I felt I was intruding on their work.
I know that sometime I will be doing a page or two using some of the photos I took but for now here are a few.

the wheel here is for the broad gauge railway with a statue of Brunel himself


The secretary at work on her typewriter and a comptometer (early adding machine) I have actually worked with one of these machines and it is surprising how fast you can add on them probably faster than a calculator as used today.



A carpenter at work on a carriage, his tool box beautifully inlaid and the framework of the carriage


Women working on a boiler of a steam engine


Goods including livestock waiting to be transported


The buffet car


that is just a brief look at what life was like in the days of steam

I did do a double layout of some of the features in the Outlet Village itself, this is for the challenge 52in10, this being 'My home town'. I have done a lot of pages of the town centre and at least one of the parks I wanted to find something new to use and thought that this would be ideal.



if you click on the image you should be able to get to my Flickr page and see a bigger version so you will be able to read the journalling. This is just a potted history of the Railway in Swindon information taken off the web.

Scrappaholic that's me.

Oh dear the signs are all there, I have become addicted, and finding it difficult to pull back. Must get my fix, the adrenalin must flow through me, Help.

Sorry just couldn't stop myself from having another little sip of the nectar so to help myself I am putting myself on the line and showing all here.

this one was a challenge on UKScrapper using a sketch


this one I love as it is a pure digital layout (couldn't be done with paper etc)


these next two are for part of the 52in10 challenge set by Dolly, where I work and who I work with



Another weekly challenge on UKScrapper this time to do a layout that is not a conventional shape and to use something big. I thought that a collage of photos of my No.1 grandson in the shape of his initial was the best way of incorporating both elements of the challenge.


these next two are scraplifted from Scrapbook Trends, although the magazine was not published in this country they have been put on the web for us to download April's copy May's copy




Phew nearly up to date now.

I am thankful for the skills I have been given to create pages that please me

Freebie

Hi Friends thought it was about time for a new freebie.
I have just upgraded the programme I use to create my pages (Serif Page Plus X4) and so I have been learning about what it can do by making a new kit. I have called it storm, because I started off with dark colours but have added a blush colour to it to compliment hope you like it I have also done an LO using the kit.

Here is a picture of the kit Download here


and the Layout I have done

Playing catch up.... again

Well I haven't been in here for over a week though I have been scrapping a lot.
Yesterday I went into town with my daughter in law, Gemma she wanted to get Rufus weighed and afterwards we went for a lunch, walked down the hill and through Queens park back into town. Rufus now weighs 19lb 9oz so he is doing very well.

I haven't many photos of Benjamin so am probably scrapping the same ones over again but I did want to make a 12x12 album of him.



The monthly challenge on UKScrappers this month is
Imagine you were given a whole extra day to do exactly what you wanted with no worries about family, household chores, money or work. How would you spend your day? Would you revisit an old holiday destination, go back to a special moment in time, or to a place that holds special memories ... or would you do something totally new to you.
most of the ones that have been done have gone back in time to a holiday that was special and I am no exception although I have also incorporated a holiday I hope will come at the end of this year to celebrate my 70th birthday.

I have kept this one large as the journalling is the most important part (if you click on it you will be able to see it all)

Last Saturday I had not been in long from my crop morning at Abbey Meads Scrappers, when Gemma called in, she said they were about to go out for a late lunch early dinner at the Cold Harbour in Blunsdon and would I like to come, would I just, it is so nice to have an unexpected invite like that so quickly switching off the computer and grabbing my bag, camera and coat I was ready.
I took quite a lot of photos of Rufus while we were waiting to be served and here is the resulting layout, done for this week's challenge on UKScrappers the main criteria of the challenge was to have the title as a question, and once again I have the perfect photos taken just recently. I am amazed at how often that happens


over the last few days I have been fiddling with a scraplift, a challenge in Scrapbook Magazine this month, I did manage to do it digitally but it looked too crowded so I pulled it apart and just used some of the elements to create this page

Scrapping scrapping and more scrapping

Scrapping (that is not fighting I might add)is the art of making memories out of our photos and using design and artistic abilities to make the pages stand out and attract attention to the events recorded.
Well that is the intention, whether that is what happens when I put a page together only others can really say. I enjoy doing them, usually feel deflated when a page is finished, so to get my fix of satisfaction I have to start another page almost immediately and feel very let down if I don't have any mojo (that's inspiration by the way).
so here are the pages I have been working on for the last few days

UKScrappers challenge for this week was to scrap with Green, pink and white. use either blossom or apples (the team setting the challenge are called Scrap Apples) because Monday was May Day the day when Maypole dancing on the village green takes place we were to use intertwining ribbons and we were to follow a given sketch.
Here is my digital version of the challenge using photos taken last month that I really wanted to scrap.


I loved the sketch so when I was looking through some of my unfinished pages (of which I seemed to have quite a few) I found one started 2 years ago. It needed updating quite a bit as I have learnt a lot of new techniques in that time and was the perfect page to use the sketch again.


Another updated layout that I started 3 years ago


And finally a page finished today that I started at the beginning of the week, this time one using real paper and buttons and bits and bobs


today I am thankful for the rain staying away
for the company of my two cats
and for a lovely mixed grill meal tonight

52 in 10 playing catch up

I have done it, I have caught up, I was getting so far behind because I just didn't know how to do the home improvements one. You see I haven't done anything to this property since I moved in, oh, except have a conservatory built but that was planned before I moved.
In the end I went for photos of the before and after, the before as I saw the bungalow for the first time and agree with Neil that it was ideal for me. The after just before I moved in and before I could make it untidy. lol


My Dream cottage, what fun this was to do seeking out photos through google and of course writing the poem,


Prompt 17 was work but I am retired how do I do this, somehow it all came together with a photo I knew I had from when I was working, my boss was trying out a polaroid camera and snapped me as I came in to ask him something