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.

Easter Sunday

Christ has risen he has risen indeed

Out in the lane the frost thick on the grass but as the sun rises I praise the Lord





Yesterday I was in a lot of pain with my back, I've not had that for about 15 years, I knew it was an attach from the enemy. It was so bad I couldn't even walk to the bus stop and I needed to get an Easter Egg for Rufus. I got the prayer team praying for me, I had an offer of an Egg too. This morning my back is fine
Praise the Lord

Feeding Nanny

As promised here is the layout I did that goes with the sketch I posted earlier today



like all children everywhere they try to wind you round their little finger and believe me Rufus is an expert at this. He has a charm about him the is irresistible. In these photos he is determined to have another pudding, he had already had two helpings but when Nanny arrived after work and sat down to have her share Rufus took the spoon from her and started to feed her but it was all a ruse to get more for himself as the hidden photos reveal



today I am grateful for a brilliant Good Friday service, for the church being full as all the churches in the area join together as one for this service
for the weather being bright and although still cold no where near as cold as it has been.
And finally a phone call from my Son to have Sunday lunch with them again this week

Good Friday Sketch

Good Good Friday Morning Blog friends
here is this week's sketch and it is taken from a page I've already done (I'll share this later today)

and a little extra to the challenge is to add something hidden, for instance extra journalling or additional photos.Do hope you enjoy this and will play along with me.

I've just come home from a Good Friday service and one of the songs we sang I really want to share with you so I found it on You Tube



do hope you play it, God Bless you all

A little bit of scrapping

I have a couple of pages to share
This one was done for the weekly challenge on UKScrapper. To scrap using primary colours, three clusters of embellishments and Ribbon or washi tape. This gave me a chance to scrap in multicolours, a little out of my comfort zone but the rest of it well in my comfort zone so balanced out quite nicely. It is another page for my Florida holiday album, this is getting very full now and I still have lots of photos to use. I've changed the album to a ring type as that hold more and makes it easier to add pages.



this one is of my elderly cat Rudi



Today I am grateful to have been able to visit my elderly friend, we are a little concerned about her as she has early stages of dementia. I found her well and she recognised me this time.

Also grateful that though it is still cold the wind factor has gone so feel much better.

this Lolcat reminds me of my cats as the two girls will do this to Rudi

Just 1 or 2 Cats

I was reading this months Scrap 365 and Sian's entry was about her dream home, photographing the things in her home that represents her (I hope I have that right Sian).
It got me thinking about my cat ornaments, they represent me completely, every surface seems to have cats on them.
Perfect for my sketch and labels challenge I thought.  I have plenty of photos but most of them are landscape orientated and I needed portrait so out came my camera again and I took a photo of just one or two of them.




there are more photos of the tags and some journalling on the back





Today I am grateful that the snow didn't linger here in Wiltshire though I feel really sorry for those in other parts of the country that have been so badly affected by it.

Sketch Friday

Good morning Blog friends

Here is this weeks Sketch and a little challenge if you care to take it

challenge is to add lots of labels/stickers and to leave plenty of white space.

I'll be back later with my own page (not done yet) from this sketch

Weekend Scrapping retreat

I've had a lovely weekend away with a group of ladies who scrap
we've laughed and chatted and scrapped to our hearts content.
We've all made at least one minibook, but still have to find photos for mine before I know what sort of decorations to add. Really enjoyed doing these.
I also managed to do 4 layouts, 3 of which are for my ever fattening Florida Holiday album

This one was done using my Sketch from Friday
Finding an empty seat at one of the parks was good fortune as I found the heat very tiring. but after a short rest could then carry on


This one I've made as a early page though the two big photos were taken just as we were leaving to come home, I completely forgot to do so before


and with a little bit of tidying up and adding of the small photo this afternoon it also fits this weeks challenge on UKScrappers
Building/place/object
3+ photos
Creative title

This one really makes me smile but has been waiting to be scrapped for quite a while I just couldn't get and idea of how to use it.



The day the new pope was announced my son was in Rome, he had posted on facebook a photo of them waiting for the white smoke. One of his friends back here in the UK had said " I heard he's been chosen........ Pope Bainbridge the first."
I just couldn't resist adding a photo of Neil ready for a fancy dress party back in 1990 and of course a page just had to follow

 
this page was inspired by one of Tracee's that was in Scrap 365 this time.

today I am grateful for a super weekend
and for cats to come home to

Friday Sketch

Good morning Blog friends here is my sketch for the week.



I'm away for the weekend on a Scrapping retreat so hope to be able to use my sketch there and perhaps incorporating one of the other challenges on UKScrappers.

I've just been over to Rinda's blog and that reminded me I have a self portrait to share. (Not taken on my iphone as I don't have one and my phone photos leave a lot to be desired) This was taken through the mirror at the hairdressers I really couldn't resist the urge to take it.

 

I've been busy during the week learning more and more things that I can do with my Robo machine.
I love the fact that I can create my own journalling blocks, stickers etc and through Robo print and cut them, I know it takes longer to do and is a bit fiddly getting the cutting area right some times as some designs need a lot of intricate cutting, but it feels good to be using my own unique things rather than bought items, and of course I can have an endless supply and get just the right words etc.

Today I am grateful for a bright morning for the sale yesterday
for the excitement of the coming weekend retreat
and for a takeaway shop just across the road which I often use on a Thursday.

Baby it's Cold Outside

Boy it is cold, it is down to the bone cold, but that is perfect weather to stay indoors and scrap or pursue which ever hobby is enthralling you at the moment.
When sorting out my stash to take away this weekend, this little photo
 
dropped out of somewhere and I just knew I had to use it straight away, so no more sorting, scrapping instead



This photo was taken in December 2010, I had planned a special holiday for my 70th birthday, taking all my family to Edinburgh. The holiday was not a great success but there were moments, little snippets that add a sparkle when I think of them and this photo of Danny in a Lion's head hat is one of them. He looks so cute.
(the papers used here are all from freebies collected over the years I have purchased magazines, I am on a quest to use up some of them before plucking up the courage to throw the rest away)

I love scrapbook challenges, and this week's challenge on UKScrappers was right up my street.
Challenge criteria

Use this sketch

 stamps, buttons, ribbon and/or trim

I loved the papers that were a freebie in Scrapbook Magazine this time and they seemed perfect for the photo I had chosen.

The photo I found on Facebook. one of Helen's friends had taken it and put it on there, the lighting is way off but I just loved the smile on my daughter's face so I used it in two ways the first I enhanced it slightly and then for the second one I turned it to black & white then sepia and softened it. (isn't it amazing what you can do with a little photo manipulation)

I was stuck for a title until I found the 'precious' rub on and I think it fits the bill beautifully

now to get on with sorting stash for the w/e

Today I am grateful that I didn't have to be out for too long.
for lots of layers of clothes to help warm me up again once I got back inside.

Scrapping with friends

An all day crop, always good to get together with friends to scrap, sitting with artistic people brings out the artist in ourselves. Well that is the theory anyway.

I did get three pages done so quite productive though not as artistic as I hoped.

This one is from some photos I found in an album that was my father's. It made me smile and brought back happy memories of when my parents used to go Old Time dancing



Next is the page I did from my sketch and the comical photo of my grandson Rufus. I added some of my own faux enamel dots to this page



finally this page is another one for my Florida holiday, this album is getting so fat now I may have to move all of them into a ring bound album, as I still have more to add.



I now need to make up more kits for the retreat next weekend.

for now I am grateful for a pleasant day with friends
and a warm bungalow, as it is back to freezing outside.

Friday Sketch time

Good Morning Blog friends I'm here again with another sketch.
Have you ever had a photo that you would love the scrap because the subject is so special but the background is very annoyingly messy. That's what happens to me so often. I tackle the problem in many ways. One of those ways is to crop the photo till the worst of the mess is removed that can leave a strange shape so this sketch is to accommodate such a cropping.



I haven't yet done the page as I have an all day crop coming up tomorrow and also a scrapping retreat next weekend so saving my ideas till then. But this is the photo I have in mind. One my Daughter in Law took quickly and posted on Facebook



Another way of getting rid of the messy background is to fade or blur out the unwanted area which is what I did here


In this next one I blurred out the background with a radial blur a rather pleasing effect I thought



or how about 'cutting' the subject out and placing it on a completely different background



that last one was done for a challenge and a real tongue in cheek background. It is a digital layout and not one that I have printed as I don't necessarily want to keep it. Incidentally the flower stands were also 'cut' from a photo and was the flower arrangement in my church for John's funeral, done by one of our ladies especially for me with the same colours and as near as possible the same flowers as I had in my wedding bouquet.

Well I hope I have given you some ideas and I will be back at the weekend to show you what I did with the sketch.

Spring Around the Corner

Good morning Blog Friends, can you feel it, the seasons are changing, here in the UK it is definite that spring is in the air, I wake at 6.30 and draw back the curtain and it's light I don't need to flick a switch.
On the first day of this month I took a walk down the back lane to ASDA. I didn't need much so just a quick walk get what I needed and then catch the bus into town, but I was halted in my tracks for all around me was signs that Spring was certainly on its way.
Camera out and the day became a photo opportunity.
later over the weekend I made this match book minibook


(rather pleased with the design on the cover as it is one of my own created on Serif Page Plus and cut on Robo, I'm learning more and more what this machine can do)







Yesterday (Monday) I needed to clear all my stash that had accumulated in the lounge, I was struggling to navigate around it all and it was definitely time to get it all back in the craftroom and hopefully put away. I did manage to clear the room and most of it has found a home, whether I will remember where everything is, is another matter.
As a reward I did another layout in the evening, this one for the weekly challenge on UKScrappers. The criteria this week was scraplifting, taking a sketch from one page in the gallery, a design element from another and the colour combination from still another. This is how I went about it

and the resulting layout



My gratefulness today has to be the lighter mornings, the sight of a big yellow ball in the air, a cat who is at the moment playing with my feet and getting my stash sort of sorted.

Story Telling Sunday - My little treasures

It's Story telling Sunday again hosted by Sian and we are telling about 'Our Precious'. Last month I told you about the little box that my Daughter sent me.
So this time it's about something that my son gave me.

I had not been in my bungalow long, just about got most rooms tidy, when I came home one day to find this little cat on my bed



He had a note tied around him, which simply said "Hello my name is Bungly, I've come to live with you". There was only one person who would have done this, of course. Such a lovely gift from a thoughtful Son and something I will always treasure.

It is a page in my album of Little Treasures


He usually sits on my bed near my pillow and often when I'm snuggled down I find him nestled in my arms. He really does love to be cuddled.

I do have another treasure from my Son, a more recent one. Given to me last month. We went out for a meal and before we were served Neil disappeared and came back in with a present wrapped in heart decorated paper. He said that he and Gemma had seen this and thought of me. It is beautiful and now is hanging on my chimney breast in the lounge.



I will probably do a page for my album with this picture at some time or other.

Thank you for visiting my blog if you would like to read my stories of treasures pop up to Sian's place high in the sky