busy scrapping Liam's year album is finished!

Wow what a productive week - I have finished Liam's year album. I have done all the month pages as double page layouts and added a front title page and a final word page at the back. I am so pleased with it. It has taken a year of thinking about and trying to collect photos for etc. and a few weeks now making it up - but it is a task I am glad I have done. just hope that Liam will appreciate it.
Here are a few pics - will add a slide show later.







I have tried to follow a similar theme throughout so black base card with patterened paper and matching Bazzill stitched to base. 2 photos on LHS - 1 5x7 and the other 6x4. Journalling and rub ons on RHS and more photos of different sizes to fit in around the journalling etc. The rub ons were very expensive but I think they have made the link throughout the pages.

I dread to think how much it will all have cost.

£15 for the album - DCWV rocker.
12 pages of karen Foster calender pages at 80p each = £9.60
12 packs of matching Karen foster rub ons at £3.80 each = £45.60
12 pages of matching Bazzill cardstock - I actually bought 2 of each colour in case I made a mistake - so 24 at 50p each = £12
24 black Bazzill cardstockplus about another 6 for matting, as I did not gut all of the pages when I sewed them together. 30 x 50p = £15.00
Black Gutterman sewing thread £5.00
Herma refils - I got through at least 4 of these = £10
Photographs and printer ink and paper. I ordered hundreds of photos from Photobox - but of course when I started I needed lots of different sizes, so I had to print loads more out at home - smaller or larger = perhaps £30.

Oh my goodness that comes to £142!!!

just thought about white journalling card stock and postage for all the goods from UKS sponsers - so I expect all in all it comes to about £150 and that does not include my time!



I have just added 24 pages to my 8 total so far - so have done 32 pages out of my target of 52 for the year - nearly reached it by February!

fab crop today

I went to a lovely crop today run by Anne & Caroline for Scraptz. This is the second one of theirs that I have been to and have enjoyed them both as some lovely ladies attend and I get to see some fab work from the others. I also get help and ideas with my work as everyone else can see what I can't.

I took Liam's year album that I have come to a standstill with. I knew it wasn't working which is why I had stopped - but Mary Lou suggested matching up the bright Karen Foster papers with some plain card stock instead of the black that I was trying unsucessfully to use. Thankfully Caroline & Anne bring along plenty of Bazzill cardstock so I was able to take all 12 month pages up and match them up perfectly - so feel inspired to start again with it. Trouble is I ran out of black sewing thread tonight as I was sewing around the edges - so can't do any more until I can get some tomorrow.

The morning class was a technique class making a paperbag album - I have never done one of these before and it was fun - though mine is not finished - but I have the ideas of what to do - next week is going to be busy craft wise.

Some girls are going to the NEC in March to the craft show - I had not considered it before but think I might request the day off so that I can go if I fancy it.

Lets review my new years resolutions

Well its now 4 weeks into the New Year and I thought I would look back on my resolutions and see if I have kept to any of them!

1) Continue with Slimming World - Yes, but the path is very slippery - must make more of an effort

2) Go to the gym - NO I HAVE NOT BEEN ONCE IN JANUARY - this is really bad and I am very ashamed. Must try harder!

3) Improve teeth - fair - I have been using my sonic tooth brush regularly twice a day. Its great and my teeth feel much cleaner. However only flossing every now and then, so my gums still look a bit inflamed. But on the whole I am pleased with this - hopefully will be able to start my treatment in March.

4) Scrapbook more - Yes - I am really pleased to have my scrap stash all back together in my craft room - but as this is Ross's bedroom and he does not get up until 1 or 2 o'clock - most of the day has gone by the time I can get in there and the it gets dark so quickly after that - that really I am counting down the days (13th Feb) when he goes back to PGL and I can get in there all day.

I signed up for a few challenges but not doing well at these.

Scrapping targets - excellent - to do 1 a week and I have done 8 so far.

But the A-Z have not really started it - though did only just buy a journal in paperchase in London at the weekend - so still hope there.

365 days - gave that up straight away - as it is too much.

Found another one that I like - have not started it but keeping the details for when I can scrap more. Its called the things we overlook challenge- to add to your BOM album. first one was your favourite coffee mug and how you like to drink your coffee etc. - well I don't drink tea or coffee so don't have a fave mug or coffee shop. Second one is your collection - of anything - well I don't collect anything either !! so not really a promising start - but you can adapt it - so do a layout about not drinking coffee and what I do drink and perhaps use my collection of scrap booking magazine! we shall see.

Liam's year album - I made a start on this, but I can't get the layout right so am a bit stumped on that one at the moment - again need to have full reign of my large work area in the craft room for this - so this should come on.

5) read more - no not doing well here. After that first book, have not read any more - was very conscious of my bad performance that I went and bought 3 books yesterday - despite having a library at home - to inspire me. I made a start on this one last night.


The reason why I have not read much is because I have been watching the fab DVD.






6) take vitamins - nope - will try harder - again

7) Blog more - trying - but without my laptop its hard.

8) become better with PS elements - I did spend the day doing this last week and made some good progress - but as its only on my laptop, I am scuppered again. I did try and put it on the family computer but it is so old that it could not manage it.

So all in all - a bit of a poor show. I think I will do much better when Ross goes back in 2 weeks, because as soon as he is up, I am having to take him out for driving practice and the nag him to practice his theory - he has his theory test next week - but he is not doing enough to pass it - which is very frustrating, as he just sits and watches American soaps all day !!!!!! it make me want to scream at him to turn the telly off and just read the book for heavens sake!!!

a good and a really bad week!

Good news - I lost 2 1/2 lb at slimming Monday night. How this happened after all I ate in London I don't know, but I am not complaining. I now weigh 11 stone 11lb and everyone says I look quite slim and should not loose any more. But there are people joining Slimming World now and I know because I weigh them, that weigh a lot less than me, yet are the same height - 5'6"- and are clearly unhappy with their weight - so why should I stop?

That question is rhetorical because I think my body wants to call it a day, as I cannot stop eating!! I was so chuffed after Monday night's weigh in, that I was determined to keep to it - but come Tuesday I raided Jessica's chocolate tin - there is nothing left now. Bought a crunchie bar from the shops - ate a huge lunch - bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and 2 eggs followed by a yogurt but was still hungry so ate a huge bowl of cereal. I then baked chocolate fingers and nearly devoured them all - what is happening to me?

I think 2 things are to blame - firstly I think My stomach which has got used to smaller amounts of food got stretched by the massive meal at the Chinese restaurant on Saturday and now wants that full up feeling again.

Secondly I am very down in the dumps because my computer has broken again. Actually not down in the dumps but downright furious. Spent most of yesterday on the phone trying to get some one from Fujitsu Siemens to agree to replace this dam laptop as it is the same fault each time - I have to wait 4-5 weeks for a new graphics cards to arrive, then I have it home for 1-2 weeks and it breaks again. In the last 3 months I think I have actually had it at home for 3 weeks - this is clearly not good enough. In the end the help desk put me through to someone senior who said he will look into it - so it will be back to occasional blogging whenever I can get on a PC.

Wicked was just wicked!

We are back from London now having had a fab weekend.

We spent far too long in here


Its the huge Apple shop, set over 2 floors and just full of lovely things. Even Steven who has never shown any interest in mac things now wants a 24" imac!



The main reason for going was to see Wicked. I love the music and Steven got me tickets to see the show for my birthday. He is not so keen on the music so it was very good of him - but in fact he actually enjoyed it. It was fantastic and the girl who played Elphaba, Kerry Ellis had the most fantastic voice. I saw her before playing Ellen in Miss Siagon in Oxford and thought then how good she was.



The theatre and set were amazing. The foyer had been painted green & black and this dragon was gorgeous, as were all the costumes.




The theatre looked great when we came out because it was dark and it was all lit up in green lights.





Afterwards we met Janet & Michael in Leicester square for a drink, the went to china Town and had a meal in a restaurant there.

When I say meal I mean banquet as we had 3 huge courses and all were delicious. Mind you the bill was a bit steep - good job we don't eat out in London very often.

google reader

Well I discovered this a few months ago due to a link on UKS andI love it but unfortunately I have become addicted to it.

Its brilliant how it knows when each blogg has been updated - which saves me from logging into each different one. Trouble is though I just keep adding more and more blogs to it and I have tons on there now that it takes me all day to keep up to date with them all.

In fact there are 70 blogs that I follow. Sometimes its hard to remember who is who, but I pick up lots of useful information such as an online photography course from 2 peas - which I would not have otherwise known about.

On a scrapping roll and still resisting chocolate

I finished 2 layouts yesterday and started a 3rd which I want to finish this evening. Can only post one as I added to the Halloween layout after I snapped it yesterday so will photograph that tomorrow.



This layout - ooh la la is the one I have been waiting for the Basic Grey  scarlets letters papers for -but in fact they were not a great match when they arrived but I used them anyway, as I was so keen to scrap this gorgeous cheeky photo of Jess. I used one of my new etsy shop scrolls on it and love it - 
I can see all of my layouts now are going to feature scrolls and swirls of some description.
The word ooh la la etc I had in the drawer but again were not really the right colour, but I must start to use some of my stash up and I can't see me using it on anything else so hence the pale pink flowers with brown trims which don't match anything except the title!

One of the challenges I started on UKS  in January was to complete 1 layout a week making a total of 52 in the year - I am doing very well but have lost track of how many I have done already - Think this is no.6 so going to devise myself a tally - so I know how behind or in front I am!

Chocolate temptation is still there but I was very good when I went to buy my lottery ticket this afternoon and resisted - it took all my will power though. We are going to London 
for the weekend to see Wicked 
and I know the diet will go out of the window there so I might as well go for broke now - right?