Pogo Printer

I used my Pogo printer to print these photos. The print quality is kind of what you'd expect for under £20, but I like the size of the prints (sort of cigarette card size)& it's quite refreshing not to be able to fiddle and photoshop stuff prior to print out. What you take is what you get.

Stamps are are mix of Tim Holtz, Sassafras and Technique Tuesday. There are two splots of red wine on there, too. Lord knows how they got on. I do remember spilling wine once, but I'm pretty sure I managed to miss the layout - I checked. So I must have spilled wine twice then. Hey ho. 

I realise this makes me sound a bit of an old lush...

(The boys had their heads hanging over the edge of the bed btw, that's why they look a bit weird.)

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Look very carefully at this layout. Squint a bit, and sort of adjust your focus, as though you're looking into the middle distance - a picture of a woman and a boy will magically appear!! Trust me, I stuck it down, I know it's on there somewhere.

This is an example of not leaving well alone; of finishing something and then just having to go back and fiddle and add and titivate until eventually the whole thing becomes overwhelmed and at odds with itself.

I started with the photo and the fish backing paper, because - hur hur - we were at the Anglesey Sea Zoo. I threw in some more patterned papers, offcuts mostly, and it didn't look too bad. But I should have stopped there. Instead I carried on in some sort of Frankensteinian frenzy, piling more and more on. "Live! Live, damn you!!" Now it just makes my eyes hurt. There's entirely too much going on and I don't know what to focus on.

We've been to Anglesey Sea Zoo more times than I can count, usually at the insistence of  the ginger ninja in the picture. Odd, because each time he's raced round it in about 20 minutes, barely registering anything on display. That's about twice the length of time it takes his dad to do IKEA though, so maybe it's just a man thing.

We are the cool kids, we are...

'nuff said.

Snow mini book

I made a mini book of my snow pictures!!

I know, I know - sit down, stick your head between your knees, breathe. You'll be OK.  It catches me like that sometimes, too.

I finally got over my fear of photo picking, shut my eyes, jabbed my finger randomly and picked around 20 to do. It will ensure that the kids will never forget the Great Snow of 2010. That, and the constant banging on about it that I fully intend to do.

For the record, me and the Bind it All are still not seeing eye to eye. And all contact with the DreamKuts has been broken off after its shoddy behaviour with a piece of 7X6

I like this one, it reminds me of The Shining

  

This one makes me look like I have a big freaky hand (I don't)

So there you go. It's pretty simple, but it tells a small tale, which is what scrapping is all about innit?

They say Inuits have 100 words for snow (although presumably that's 110 when the snow mobile won't start). Well, I have 143 photos for it. I took them when we went out to play in the snow last week. No, I took MORE actually, they're just the ones that made it through my rigorous quality control processes.

143 photos. And, as you can imagine, each one as fresh, exciting and inspirational as the last...

I think it was the conviction that this was the heaviest snowfall the kids would experience in their childhood that drove me on. I clicked everything they did from every angle. Over and over again. I was going to make a mini book with them, but, faced with so many to choose from, I'm paralysed by indecision over which ones to include/exclude. I'd have done far better taking just 10 and then stepping away from the camera, and working with  what I had. Lesson for the future, I think.

Stress Free Scrapbooking

This is the title page for Shimelle's Go to Press: Stress Free Scrapbooking on 2 Peas. You get a daily prompt and loads of stuff to print off on your printer, something I normally only use for photo printing, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this pans out.

I've run the title vertically because I'm doing 8x8 and hope to bind it with the BIA I seem to remember buying a couple of years ago, so I've got to leave an indent on the left for wires.

BTW, it's resting on a packet of Eccles Cakes, which are undoubtedly one of life's small pleasures! Off to scoff one now in fact.

Now then, where was I?

Do you like my new template? I picked it because it reminds me of Trainspotting, which is not my favourite film however I did enjoy the poster.
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I'm Twittering now, do you see? It means I can communicate to you all the highly important thoughts I have during the day.
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Here's some stuff I've done recently.
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This one I did while drunk with Jackie. She came up to stay this last weekend and we had a riot - can't wait to see you again at the retreat ;). Lots of Scenic Route, which she has just converted me to.


This one I lifted from one in the We Dare You book.

This is my four year old looking all little and lost.



Here is is my four year old launching a Cato-style attack on me while I experiment with some daring up-nose shots. I used the November Scrapagogo kit for this one. The frames around the photo are Prima stamps - £1.75 from A Trip Down Memory Lane. Bargain!

Here I am, demonstrating that major surgery need be no bar to looking elegant and well turned out!

I slipped a couple of discs in my spine over the summer and they got worse and worse until in September one of them ruptured and I had to have emergency surgery. I'd heard all sorts of horror stories about the success rate of spinal surgery before I had it, so I'm very thankful that mine seems to have been so successful. I'm left with sciatic pain down my leg and in my bum, but compared with how I was before and what might have been, I consider myself fortunate.

There is one thing that continues to prey on my mind. I was most definitely sporting sensible drawers when I was wheeled into that operating theatre and I awoke to find myself sans them. Which means that the surgeon was treated to the sight of my rosy red rump poking cheerfully up at him. Charming. I thought that with my childbearing years behind me I would be done with such unexpected invasions of modesty, but apparently not.

Friends say I should try to put such thoughts out of my mind. Coincidentally, I bet that is what the surgeon is trying to do too.

Anyway, I now face the grim spectre of returning to work in the next couple of weeks. The swines, do they not know I have a Christmas journal to complete??

Me and oldest DS messing about the other day.

Looking at this I am faced with some difficult truths.
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While he has a skin like a peach, I have a strawberry nose.

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Furthermore, I look like a lairy old auntie, rather than the hip and dudey chickster I am in my head.

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Never mind. Wine and the application of Decleor Neroli Oil will help. Happy Friday!

I'm a guest DT member for Make the Moment Last this month. I got to use some papers from the Crate Paper Lemongrass collection, plus some other bits and bobs and a gorgeous glittery Fancy Pants mini transparency. I've never come across them before and was a bit unsure how to use it, but it really lifted the LO.

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(It's great having a ginger boy. I'm never phased by orange papers!)

I used Fancy Pants Fresh Mod stamps on this one.

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The stalks are Daisy D floral rub ons.

I think this photo will make me laugh until my dying day :). It's not just my older son's expression, but the fact that the mask is so big on my littlest one that you can only just see the tops of his eyes peeping through the eye holes. Bless.

I used the My Mind's Eye Night Light collection, plus a few other bits and bobs. And yes, Jackie, even a flower snuck its way in there. Oh, the horror!!!!! :)

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Gas man has still not been. Hat is firmly jammed on head out of necessity rather than vanity now. Am freeeeeeeezing.

Never chuck anything away! I made this rather groovy background by dripping alcohol inks onto acetate a couple of years ago when I was going through one of my periodic, tiresome, "I am an artstamper!" phases. I kept the offcuts and finally found a use for them this week. This is a page for one of those Papermill DIY calendars. It's my youngest on a merry go round last weekend, calmly observing the health and safety instruction beside him, even though the ride is not moving . He gets that strand of mindless conformity from his dad. I, as I'm sure you can tell, am FAR more rock'n'roll, hem hem.

I am doing very well with my calendar this year. I bought it in August, and am up to March already.

I went to see my surgeon today, about my back. It is a month ago today since he sliced me open and popped out my damaged disc, and he wanted to check how I was healing. I took my new book on art journals with me to read (whoop! whoop! tiresome "artstamper!" phase approaching!) while I was waiting to be seen. The nurse showed me into his room and told me he'd be in in a few minutes. I sat down and hurriedly flicked through the book, choosing the best page to be caught looking at when he entered the room, so as to like, impress him or something (I really did do this. God, I'm such an arse). Then I sat with a rod straight back just to show how seriously I take postural issues and waited for him to arrive. He didn't show after a few minutes, so I did another flick through and chose another, even more impressive page and posed again. Then I got a text and had to put the book down for a minute while I replied. He walked in to find me huddled, squinting, over my phone, the book completely obscured by my duffle coat. Consequently he will never know the artistic goddess that dwells inside the middle-aged lumpen frame he saw slouched before him. I am sure if he had seen the book he would have understood and would not have casually told me I could stop resting up and could go back to work anytime. Grrrrrrr.

An atc for the UK Art raffle organised by Flo - this month's theme is summer sunshine.

LO of my youngest savouring a doughnut. Don't know where he gets's his love of cake from, really I don't.

Birthday card for my oldest, who is now, gulp, 8. The happy birthday stamp is off this month's Craft Stamper (what a great re-vamp they've had!) and the design is a complete rip off of their sample.

Off on holiday for a couple of weeks. Toodle pip.

Here's what I did with my lovely August Cleo Crafts kit:



I really liked these papers, you don't have to do much with them to get a funky effect and the tones are gorgeous - colourful but without being harsh or garish. I made another project that I'll upload tomorrow.

Subscriber kits are being sent out tomorrow. I think you can buy any left over kits once these have gone out. Check the Cleo Crafts website for more information.

Cogsmo papers, Kelly Panacci, Technique Tuesday and Fancy Pants stamps (I got a set of their 12x12 stamps for £14 off ebay!).

I did this one last night. Mindful of the need to go and sneer at Big Brother, I did it in 20 minutes, so I was quite pleased. It is only 6 x 6 though.

I look pretty serene don't I? I think I was actually doing his Little Lordship's shoes up rather than meditating on the wonder of motherhood.

This one has kept me awake for the past two nights making strange stinky smells and yowling noises! (I mean the cat, not the LO, obviously.)

Hmm, I'm beginning to see why she was made homeless in the first place...

I've had a very crafty weekend! This does not usually happen. Usually family members expect things from me or there are chores to be done, or we simply all have to get out of the confines of the house and go out somewhere to stop us from wanting to throttle each other. But this weekend the kids have found things to do to occupy themselves, d/h hasn't come bustling in with that cabin-fever look, demanding to know where we should go to today, and the house is in reasonable shape. (OK, by my standards it is in reasonable shape. Your standards may differ.) So I've been free to potter around, scrapping and stamping pretty much at will. And it's been blooming lovely!

I made the LO above using mostly Cogsmo papers. The alpha stamps are Sassafrasslass, Robotics or something.

Why is it the boys have the best eyes? Joe's are big and blue and fringed with the longest lashes I've ever seen.

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I think the papers are Basic Grey and Urban Lily, the chipboard arrow is Bazzill, the flowers are Primas, my Scrapdreamie blinkie prize. There are also some American Crafts stickers from the April Bad Girls kit and some Doodlebug Frills.

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Nothing much to report back this week. We got a rescue cat last week, Heather. Dumb name for a cat, but she answers to it, so it seems pointless changing it. She's not allowed out yet in case she legs it, so all doors and windows are kept closed and we operate an airlock-like system between the porch door and the front door.

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She is brown tabby and white. I momentarily considered taking the dark tortoiseshell cat they had, who, whilst not as sweet tempered, would have looked stunning scrapped against some of the Cosmo Cricut papers I have. But obviously it would be wrong and shallow to let ones choice of cat be guided by scrapping aesthetics, and so Heather's placid temperament (and more neutral colour tones) won out.

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She is a good cat and a pretty cat. I will post some pictures of her in due course, as I know for a fact that there is nothing more interesting than photos of other people's pets.

I got published in SI again this month. My UKS team did a Chinese Whispers challenge whereby someone did a LO and the next person in the chain scraplifted it and passed on the results and so on. The chain has not yet completed, so we've not had a team reveal yet, but I went ahead and did the classy thing and submitted mine for national publication anyways.

I'm getting a bit worried. Team mates keep commenting on how far removed it is from the design they lifted or created. I'm concerned I may have interpreted the brief of "scraplift" a little broadly i.e. ignored everything about the existing design and added a whole load of new stuff in different places instead. So, um, created an entirely new layout, then.

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Could I be the first scrapper to get into trouble for not scraplifting? Hey ho.