Catching up

As I have said before ,I still have some catching up to do on my Document 2011 album. Part of me thinks I should finish it before I start the 2012 one.But I'm thinking if I don't start that this weekend I will never start it! So I think I will take my December pages to finish off and start on my Jan 2012 ones.I'm still working out how to do this years album.Last year some of my pocket pages were really full whilst others were practically empty.I also wasn't great at doing a main layout for each month so I may give that a miss...still undecided!
Anyway, these are my August pages.




The paper for my Instax camera arrived on Friday (bit gutted as I had hoped to use it on Thursday :( ),so yesterday I used it for the first time.I don't think Em quite got my excitement ('So it's not quick then?'!), but Holly was quite impressed!

Bits and bobs

I am trying to finish off a few things and do jobs that have been on the 'to do' list for a while,at the moment.Last week I finally got round to putting some Florida holiday photos in frames and up in the hallway - better late than never.I also replaced a very old layout in a box frame with a new(ish) four frames-in-one frame with my favourite photos from Autumn :) This actually two frames,one hung right under the other.I'm really pleased with it:) I did have a photo of all of us that i was going to put in it, but I look so huge in it that I really didn't want to walk past it several times a day! Funny how this time last year the same photo didn't bother me as much, amazing what a difference weight loss can do!
This morning I finished off a Disney layout that has been hanging around for ages waiting to be finished :) Thanks to Holly being very eagle eyed in Claire's the other week I bought some cute rings with teacups, cupcakes and teapots on.One has now been dismantled and added to this LO :)
I am still finishing off my 2012 album,before I start this years at next weeks crop! I've taken photos of August and Septembers pages so I will be back with them soon :)

Ebay buy :)

This weekend just gone I won something on E Bay :) I go through phases with E-Bay,I either don't go on it for ages or spend hours on there!Currently I have lots of nail laquers on my watch list... Anyway,Christmas before last (2010) I really wanted a Fuji Instax camera.Geoff was not impressed as I'd only recently got my Canon and he couldn't understand why I also wanted an instant camera! All the ones I looked at then were fairly expensive so I just sort of forgot about them in the New Year.I don't know what made me start looking again a couple of weeks back,but after missing out on one after I forgot to put in a bid before I went to work I am now the proud owner of this :)
Polaroid instant photos remind me going to birthday parties (when I was at junior school!)and going home with a photo of myself in my fancy party dress:) I still need to order some paper for this one before I can start using it.The girls think it's fab but I have warned them it's not a cheap way to take photos and will be used sparingly!

New arrivals...

Over the last couple of weeks, the girls have been reading this blog :) They fell slightly in love with the monkeys! Luckily for them I found a couple on E Bay looking for new homes....so yesterday they met Eric and Ernie for the first time :) I dread to think what they will get up to...!



I don't really know where this weekend has gone :( Today I sorted the DVD shelves out and had a a bit of a chuck out :)This weeks job is to update some of the photo frames we have up (and use some of the many un-used ones I have!)Hence I spent ages looking through our Florida photos whilst choosing some to order:)

Whoops,I have just remembered what we did yesterday! We finally had Holly's very late birthday 'do'in the morning, a cinema trip with seven friends to see Puss In Boots!It wasn't as good as we were expecting but I think they enjoyed it :)

He's finished :)

This afternoon when she got in from school Holly finished off her sock hedgehog :) He's quite quirky and a bit of an individual! It didn't really help that there is no photo with the kit and the finished hedgehog is nothing like the drawing on the bag the kits comes in! Having found an actual picture on the John Lewis website we were a bit more reassured that he looked as he was supposed to! Holly did it all herself, I had to step away and let her get on with it.When it comes to sewing I am a neat freak,my cross stitch used to be as neat on the back as it was on the front ! I think her wonky sewing gives him a bit of character!

Next project is the the felt monster kit that she got for Christmas ...!

Em is currently studying hard for her assessments and exams :( Not helped by being told that an exam she was told she was having in three weeks in now next week! Not what you'd call organised! Next week we are going back to the Orthodontist with her too.Since finishing wearing her braces three and a half years ago her teeth have moved back to where they were .She was never given a retainer which always seemed a bit strange...anyway, we will wait and see what they say.

Last day :(

Today has been my last day off before returning to work tomorrow :( This is the longest time I've had off in ages!
Holly and I got up at 'normal' time to prepare ourselves for tomorrow!Last night I actually slept like a log which is a good sign.
As predicted, the weather was pretty wild today,with very strong winds and heavy rain! First thing we made some cereal bars using a cereal maker which Holly had for a while.The 'recipes' were all a bit vague,so we opted for Cheerios,strawberry fruit flakes and used strawberry jelly crystals as the 'setting agent'.Just realised though that I forgot to take any photos of the finished bars, and they have both now been eaten.
I then tackled the 3ft high pile of ironing, whilst Holly carried on making a sock hedgehog from a kit that she got as a birthday present :)After lunch the sun came out and the clouds disappeared so we made the most of it and went out for a quick walk to get some fresh air :)A bit later we settled down with a (big) bowl of popcorn and watched The Lion King ,and waited for Em to come home from school :)It was a really nice day getting lots of stuff done:)

It's a miracle!

...that I am blogging two days in a row and that I have done a layout :) I hadn't ordered any new scrapping stuff at all since last July,so I decided to order some new October Afternoon with some of my Christmas photos.Although I still need to finish my 2011 album I really just wanted to do a layout so I printed off a few different photos to choose from. I used the OA Farm House range and some very old bits from my stash (Making Memories journal page,Heidi Swapp tape) It's not exactly elaborate, but I still like it :)

The weather here has been beautiful today,blue skies and sunshine though a little chilly.As Em goes back to school tomorrow we went out for a walk at the lakes this morning, something we haven't done in a while (she either has loads of homework or the weather is rubbish).Holly went for a wade in the river ,just as well Em didn't join her as we realised on the way home that her wellies have a huge split in the back!

Holly is still home tomorrow and as the weather is forecast to be rotten we are planning on a crafty day along with popcorn and a DVD :) Much as I have loved being at home the past week I'm hoping a return to our normal routine on Wednesday will also mean the return of my sleep ! I have been awake until at approx 2am or later for most of this past week :(

Happy New Year :)

To be honest,I don't get that excited about New Year and this year was no different! I just about managed to stay awake until midnight...!!


Thought I would share this photo of our home made Mickey Mouse bauble :) Last year some time we were in Hobby Craft and spotted some polystyrene balls.This prompted me to have the idea that we could make our own Mickey bauble, seeing as we didn't buy one when we went to Florida. The idea was to cover them is glue and then sprinkle them with black glitter.The first attempt was a bit a bit of a disaster, as the weight of the glue caused it all to slide off and there were lots of bald patches! However , after a patch up attempt using less glue,it turned out pretty well :) The ears were pushed on to cocktail sticks which were then pushed into the head and secured witha bit of superglue :) We're quite pleased with it:) Might even make a snowy version with all the snowballs we got from the John Lewis Christmas window displays!
I haven't really made any resolutions for this year.Having lost almost three stone last year I would like to keep it off,other than that I am hoping to start scrapping a bit more and take more photos.I think my camera has been a bit neglected recently and at times my photos seem to be getting worse rather than better!