Simply Sweet

It's been a another lovely day weather wise but as usual after the sale in the morning I am tired, so this is just a quick post to put my layout in.
for the scan photo of my 4th grandchild, my son's second child I did an all white page. So lots and lots of texture and layering to give the page substance.


lots of lace and trimmings on the bottom part and lots of tags that I have created myself. I also created the title block using a subtle background design and some dingbat font characters which I added stickles to
finishing it off with a scattering of pearls on the top portion

Today I am grateful that we could be outside for the sale, the first time in ages that we have been able to

Artistic Nature

The sun is shining now at 4.30 in the afternoon, it has taken a while for it to break through the cloud and I don't think it will stay for very long, but it just gave me time to get out into the garden and take some photo. I wanted to do another look up/look down, but instead I've taken lots of pictures of my cats sunning themselves



I've been quite taken with Rinda's idea of what she is calling 'My Photographer's eye'
and out in the back garden this evening I spied the stump of the ivy that we cut down some time ago. I thought it looked very artistic (hence the title of this post). Hopefully I will be finding more things to photograph and post in the same vein



I'm off out to a crop a little later so hopefully I'll get a page done using this photo


Yes grandchild number 4 at 12 weeks gestation, I wonder whether it is a girl, I would really like to have a granddaughter but I'll love it whatever sex it is.

today I am grateful for getting some good photos

Look Up Look Down

Today the sun shone the sky was blue and looking up I saw a beautiful pink blossom tree

looking down the shadow of another tree seemed to give the balance to the blossom.

Today I am grateful for the love of the Lord
for the enjoyment of nature
for the use of a good camera
and for an imagination which can see the possibilities and seize the opportunty

The Organ Grinder

On Friday I posted a sketch and said I would let you see the layout I did from that sketch. So here it is,


the sketch was perfect for this week's challenge on UKScrappers the challenge was to use all the colours from our country's flag add a banner and more than one photo. It was so easy to make the tags into a banner by stringing them all together.

Today I was grateful to being able to do the challenge and add another page to my Christmas album.

Morning has broken

I awake,
dragging myself from a rather disturbing dream
I lie there a moment and listen,
Yes Mr Peaberry is there I can hear him greeting the day,
happy with his lot,
happy with the world,
happy that the sun has risen again and night has gone.

I tumble out of bed and reach for my dressing gown.
Drawing back the curtains I see him there.
He is sitting on the top of my little twisted willow,
singing with all his might.
All is well with the world







drawn from my bed with aqua crayons



drawn from this photo with coloured pencils

Friday Sketch

Here is this week's sketch, I hope you like it

I haven't done a layout with it yet, hopefully I will be using it this weekend

I do have a page to share. I was inspired Glitter Girls adventure 66, I loved the colour scheme and the strip of photos



Today has been a day when I knew that my craft room and scrapping things just had to be sorted, everything is in such a muddle I keep loosing bits and don't really have the room to scrap property. I've made a start but it's going to be a long long job. I was on my feet for so long that I just had to call it a day at 6 this afternoon.

I am grateful that I've made a start and that I found one or two things that I've not been able to for a while.

Random jottings

Oh dear my blog has been sadly neglected, trouble is I haven't done anything worth recording except a few scrapbook pages. I'll look at the photos I have taken since Oxford and see what is worth noting.

The first thing I noticed was my look up look down that I took in Oxford

 These were both taken from Magdalen Bridge, I love the way the church tower is pointing which is echoed in the boats. (I didn't manipulate the photo that is how I took it)

On Saturday 6th
I decided on the spur of the moment to take the bus to Cheltenham. It was a lovely sunny if cold day I didn't think I would be taking many photos as I have a lot taken the last time I went. But the indoor garden in the Beechwood Centre was so pretty with the sun shining down on it  I ended up taking quite a few.

Monday 8th
The challenge on UKScrappers for this week is to scrap the ordinary the everyday events and so on my walk down to Asda I propped my camera up on a bin and took my self portrait with the lane in the background (a chap walking down the same lane offered to take it but by this time I had it all set up)
and here is my page for the challenge

I turned the photo black & white as that was part of the challenge. As my coat is black and the scarf I'm wearing is white it was just the ticket.
Later in the week I did another page for the same challenge this time with colour photos and black & white papers and embellishments


I was on a bit of a scrapping roll that week and did this page to record Ben's reactions when he first got his balance bike



Wednesday 10th
Hairdressers today, I'm trying to get the purple out of my hair, beginning to wish I had never had it put in for Christmas this time they used an opposite colour to counteract it a bit and although I still have purple in there it is beginning to fade.

Friday 12th
I found something that made me smile

The frozen dessert aisle in Asda

Saturday 13th
Abbey Meads crop this morning. I did manage to do the Breakfast layout but I spent most of my time chatting and laughing. It's so nice to get out and meet up with fellow scrappers.

Sunday 14th
I had two surprise visitors on Sunday, I hadn't been long in from church when I heard a little voice calling, Neil had arrived with Rufus and all Rufus wanted to do was find Nana's kittens. Eventually he gave up trying to catch them and settled for some toys and a jigsaw or two

but he did get his wish for one of my cats to accept him, not the girls but Rudi let Rufus stroke him and seemed to really enjoy it.

Monday 15th
Yesterday I started on a double layout of some of the photos I took in Oxford, finishing it off today



Tuesday 16th

Asda today and the sun was shining and on the way down the back lane I saw a Brimstone butterfly, couldn't get a photo unfortunately as it was flitting all the time and never landed anywhere but it was so good to see it, the first one of the season. I also found that the toads were back and lots of spawn in the muddy hole. Hope this year it doesn't dry up too soon and that the eggs hatch and have time to grow to maturity.

Today's UKS challenge, to scrap someone or something you love, to use a colour palette of Pale Green & Burgundy. I did this one of Rudi
.


and that brings me up-to-date.

Today I am grateful that spring does appear to have arrived at long last.

Oxford in the Sunshine

I went to Oxford with some friends on Wednesday, it was bathed in sunshine most of the time such a treat to see the sun like that even if it wasn't particularly warm
I just want to share a few of the photos mainly of architecture

Just outside the railway station I found what I think was probably very iconic to Oxford

A shed load of bicycles over 300 of them

I love the varied styles of building to be found in quite a small area
this one is very impressive, I don't know what it was originally but it is now used as the Job Centre


This tower is supposedly the oldest building in Oxford, a Saxon tower

right next to the tower was this building I love the fact that it has stood for so long is very misshapen looks as though it would fall down and would certainly be condemned if it was built today



Gargoyles and columns next on my list



the bust on that last one made me think of the severed heads of criminals in the olden days when they were displayed on spike at town gates rather macabre

there were so wonderful signs too
this one made us think until we realised that it was an address


and in this one I would love to know who Tom is


I think that will do for now, I'll share some more another day. Needless to say I really enjoyed my day and I'm going back again very soon, on my own with my camera, as there are so many thing I would like to capture.