Jen's Journey

2009-07-12T17:50:00.001+01:00

I do love a wedding!
This weekend we were at M's brother's wedding - what a wonderful day with excellent food, good company and plenty of laughter.

2009-07-06T19:19:00.000+01:00

We spent Saturday at Wimbledon on Centre Court and what a fab day it was!
We were treated to the Wimen's final, between who else but the Williams sisters of course. These girls are total power houses, and they move so fast, trying to get a decent shot of them was tricky because I also wanted to watch the match! My new zoom lens came in handy though, and I got a few I was pleased with.
The second match of the day was the men's doubles - what a game! Super quick, fab rallying and lots of movement around the court - I really enjoyed it. Finally, the women's doubles and the Williams sisters were in action again. It was a long day - thre 3rd match finished at around 9pm, but we had a great time and I will be hoping to go again next year too!

2009-07-01T18:26:00.000+01:00

Sarah's Cards' gorgeous June kit has been with subscribers for a little while now so I can share the layouts that I did with it. These weren't papers I'd have picked off a shelf in a shop, so when I first opened the box I was a little sstuck as to what to do with them, but after playing for a little while I found them to be really versatile and to suit a whole range of photos.

New bed!

2009-06-28T22:25:00.000+01:00

Our main bedroom is finally starting to come together - we have had it painted and wallpapered (the ceiling was a fetching combination of pastel purple, orange, yellow, blue and mint!), new carpet laid over the old mint green floorboards, we've had a new mattress for a while and on Friday our bed was delivered. Here it is!

Now we can move in - yay!! All we need now are a few more bits of furniture, like a wardrobe, and we'll have one refurbished and complete room, which will be a lovely feeling. 1 down, only 7 more to go haha!
I've been on a weekend away with some of my very best school friends - we went up to the Yorkshire Moors where it was very very misty, but we had a lovely time. Photos to come soon.

One year on...

2009-06-26T12:51:00.003+01:00

So Sunday was our 1st wedding anniversary - my that has flown by!
We spent a lovely weekend reminiscing, and Michael took us to London for a champagne flight on the eye, which was great! I've been wanting to go on it for ages! The weather didn't look promising, with big black clouds, but about 10 minutes before our flight the clouds cleared and we had clear blue skies for the duration of the ride, then it clouded over again!

I've been on the twighlight shift again this week so my body clock is all of a muddle lol!

Today I had to get up early, having got home from work at 2am, to take delivery (finally) of our new bed yay! It looks fab in the room - can't wait to move in there as we've been living in the guest room since we moved in. Will get photos up after the weeeknd - I'm off up to N. Yorkshire this afternoon for a girly weekend away - must go and pack!!

GoGo Getaway!

2009-06-14T12:57:00.005+01:00

So this time last week I was at Scrapagogo's gogogetaway for a weekend of fun! I had a lot of laughs with the girls, stayed up late & woke early, scrapped lots and took not a single photo!

I was nowhere near as productive as Leanne or Laura with their super duper page kits, but I am pleased with what I did do.

This layout is on yummy dotted swiss cardstock, which I think Shimelle managed to convert many people to over the course of the weekend! Since making this layout I have realised that this is in fact not a tram, it is a cable car d'oh! Still, I don't mind cos it's pretty and i like it, and 'san fran cable car love' does not have quite the same ring to it!

I used Leanne's gorgeous Martha Stewart butterfly punch to make little butterflies from some yummy Hambly overlay and scattered them accross my layout - prettiness!

My favourite photo from my cousins wedding in March this year, with more butterflies!

This layout was Fiona's class on the Saturday, which was using Pink Paislee fascinating range - I wasn't completely sold on the papers at first but I like the finished result. I totally stole the little dots on the letters idea from Laura and SJ next to me!

Yet more butterflies here (I think I used them on 95% of my layouts this weekend). Some funny photos of me and him from Bhav and Neema's wedding in April this year. I used some of the yummy new Scenic route and gorgeous Prima Scribbles.

And finally, the much anticipated new Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers - perfect for the vintage look! This is an old photo of me from 1989. The layout tells the story of the t-shirt, I modelled it for the BA in flight catalogue lol! I used lots of SJ's fab journalling spots (which can be found here) on this layout and embellished them with some stickles. Of course, the almost obligatory butterfly on this page too!

I have a few more partly finished pages to share (butterfly count: 2/3 pages) when they get completed, and also Shimelle's mini book which I absolutely adore (partly because it's scattered with butterflies!) and have almost finished.

I apologies for the somewhat butterfly heavy post lol!

Working the twighlight shift this weekend, time for some lunch and then watching the beginning of the tennis before I have to leave for work. Here's hoping no-one is ill and I can watch Murray win!

M.I.A

2009-06-01T13:13:00.002+01:00

Apologies for my absence - I have been working working working all day everyday. I missed all the sunshine because I was working 9am - 9:30pm Fri/Sat/Sun and today I start twighlights - 3:30pm til 1am which is just a rubbish shift and I'm already so tired!

Next weekend is the GoGo retreat - I have no photos arranged, and do not feel at all organised for it!

In appreication of cupcakes

2009-05-17T14:48:00.003+01:00

Mmm, cupcakes! Cupcake frosting has to be the tastiest invention ever. These were my birthday cupcakes - some lemon, some chocolate, yum yummy yum!

Our new sofa - we haven't got the feet on it yet because there were no pilot holes drilled into the bottom and so the delivery men weren't insured to fit them. Someone is coming round to do it this week. We could have quite easily have done it ourselves, but then again why should we, and there is a risk we might mess it up lol! Still, it is usable as it is, and is so very comfortable. We need a few more cushions I think, but this room is finally getting there yay!

I had a scrappy day yesterday with my sister Em, and made these layouts.

This one is a lovely photo of us girlies as our retreat in March - loads of texture in this layout with gorgeous bazzill swiss dots, scrumptious velvety doodlebug and fab glitter card - delish!

This is a layout that I have had sat around half finished for ages! All I had left to do was the sewing around the edge but I had lost my brown thread so I just have not got around to doing it! Finally replaced my thread, still don't know where the old one went, and got it done. We had bought little pink tiaras for the younger girls at our wedding, and Mum was joking in the morning that at least we had a back up in case something went wrong with mine lol!

Finally this is my layout for the 'Getting to know you' challenge over at the Scrapagogo clubhouse. ou had to use a colour scheme of yellow, orange and green and list 5 things about yourself. I chose 5 random facts: 1. I have a fear of peas 2. I once tried to learn ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics 3. I have never learnt how to ride a bike 4. I often get cravings for pears 5. I was Prince Charming in our Yr 6 play

My initial thought at using orange yellow and green was that it was a real challenge, but I used the fabby April GoGo kit as a starting point and I love the finished layout! The lace card is all raised up on foam pads and the orange overlay is so stunning!

Another year older

2009-05-15T09:05:00.002+01:00

So my birthday was yesterday, although it didn't really feel much like a birthday because I was at work from 9am until 9:30pm, as I have been all week. I was working last weekend too, and the week before so I am thoroughly shattered.
As such, we will be celebrating my birthday this weekend instead, and I have next week off so I am hoping for lots of scrapping time yay!

Early birthday present!

2009-05-05T21:16:00.005+01:00

It is not my birthday for another 8 days but michael gave me my present early! This was partly because I had to help him choose it - he wanted to get my a new camera lens but wasn't sure what I wanted so we went shopping together. I got a Sigma 70-300mm lens and love it!
These are just some random snapshots I took of the new plants in our garden - these are from the other end of the garden so the zoom is pretty good! They are just handheld and it was windy so I was pleased with the sharpness of them.
Hoping to get up close and personal with some of the many bird visitors to our garden soon! We spent 12 horus gardening on Saturday and the garden is looking so much better. Mum and Dad bought up loads of cutting from their garden and so we filled up the two empty beds. I can't wait for it all to grow now, I'm very impatient lol!

I have also been doing some scrapping -

I did this page about being 24 years old, and included the journalling from my last blog post! I used lots of yummy cosmo cricket girl friday along with loads of little bits, a lovely new prima scribbles flower and my new heidi swap butterfly mask - so loving butterflies right now!

This is a page that has been sat on my desk half done for several weeks now, and I finally got around to finishing it! This was made using the gorgeous Gogo Feb kit - yes I am still working through my honeymoon pics!

Finally I've been trying to make some cards with my kits too - I do enjoy making them but never seem to get around to it! I am making some thank you cards in anticipation of my birthday lol! I kep this very simple - just some circle and butterfly punches, a few pearl gems and a rub on!

A new month!

2009-05-01T21:30:00.003+01:00

Wow, how come it is May already??!
I really do not know where this year is going it's just a little bit scary!

So this month I turn 25.
24 was a pretty eventful age:
1) Started off with my hen do
2) Got married, the most amazing day ever!
3) Honeymoon - 2 and a half weeks of sheer luxury, holiday of a lifetime
4) Started my first job as a doctor (how long ago doesn that feel now!) and finally started to get paid, got a pension lol!
5) Got a mortgage, bought our first house.

How is being 25 years old going to top being 24 years old??

April kit layouts

2009-04-21T20:52:00.000+01:00

Apologies again for my severe lack of blogging, life is pretty hectic at the moment and the days & weeks are simply flying by!
Hoping to get some more house pics up soon - we are gradually getting stuff unpacked and into a home of some sort. I have decided that even if it is in the 'wrong' place it's better than in a box!

The April Sarah's Cards has been winging it's way around the country and is going down well with subscribers - I loved the colours in this kit and there are lots of really fun elements like the cute little owl! I created these layouts with the kit this month.

2009-04-01T19:18:00.000+01:00

So I finally found the cable for the camera - turns out it wasn't in a box at all, I had already unpacked it and put it in a safe place so I wouldn't forget where it was lol! Well, good intentions and all that.
A couple of house pics - our back garden goes all the way back to where you can see the white cottage at the end, so plenty of space to keep us busy! The front half of the house dates back to 1700s, and the back half is Victorian. There are some beams inside that are even older - 1500s apparently so we have a lot of history to look after and we love it!

We Moved!

2009-03-31T21:22:00.000+01:00

Well we successfully moved house without any problems - so exciting to be in our own home and really make it ours. I would love to show photos but I have not yet unearthed my camera cable - I can't remember which box it is in, and as it's so small it isn't easy to find! The unpacking was initially quick but we have now reached a kind of limbo - we have everything that is essential out (stash included of course!) and are not decided where the rest of it is going to go. All our furniture seems tiny in these larger rooms, and somehow there seems to be less of it too.

We spent a couple of lovely days in the garden basically taking a couple of the beds back to basics - can't wait to have the time to fill them, I can see myself getting into gardening! Michael is keen on a veggie plot - we have space for one and so he has chosen onions, potatoes, tomatoes, parsnips, spring onions, carrots and salad leaves. We also have a big pot of strawberries, yum!

We've had our main bedroom decorated already - we picked some lovely wallpaper from Laura Ashley and matching paint in duck egg white - very fresh and sophisticated! Now we just need to choose a carpet, order furniture and get a door (no, there's no door, and all the other ones upstairs are original so it's going to be more difficult to find the right thing!).

We spent last weekend at my cousin's wedding - it was a fab day and so much fun, especially the white chocolate fountain - amazing! I have incriminating photos of all involved in the stick-as-much-food-on-a-stick-soak-it-in-chocolate-and-stick-it-in-your-mouth debacle lol!

A couple more layouts from my scrappy weekend away at the beginning of March - can't have a post without pictures!
Hoping to locate the camera cable very soon!

2009-03-14T22:56:00.000Z

Last weekend I went away for the weekend with a fabulous bunch of girlies for scrapping, wine and laughs! We had plenty of all 3, and I was fairly productive even if I didn't do as many layouts as last time we went away together!
This is one of my layouts from the weekend - the photo was taken in Hawaii on our honeymoon last year, I loved the bold colours of this mini-kit from the Scraproom, and I just had to use those gorgeous new Thickers - perfect for a lizard layout lol!

We now have the keys to our new home! We picked them up on Thursday and last night we camped overnight which was fun. We move in properly on Monday - the removals are coming bright and early so we are last minute packing. It has migrated slightly from very organised boxes with numbers, colour coding and relevant contents to just-shove-it-all-in-and-see-what-happens lol!

More from the weekend to some soon, along with the obligatory new home pics of course. That is if we don't get cut off from the internet for too long!

Sarah's Cards Feb Kit

2009-03-05T20:21:00.000Z

I can now show you my designs to go with Sarah's Feb kit - such a fun mixture of colours and patterns from Pink Paislee - perfect for fun summer photos!I had great fun with this kit, and subscribers are coming up with some gorgeous pages too. One of the most usable parts of the kit was the Prima tape - this stuff is genius, I love it!

Box city

2009-03-03T22:57:00.000Z

Yup we are now officially living in packing box city! This pile arrived a few days ago so we've been cracking on. I do like to be organised so each box has a big coloured sticker on it which corresponds to a room in the house. It also has a number and we have a master list to tell us the contents of each box number. I think I may have said this before but I have just come off nights and my brain is mush lol! I am finding lots of things I'd forgotten we even had - always good. we've just under 2 weeks to go til removals, but we get the keys next Thursday! SO SO EXCITED!

Tonight I have been getting sorted for my weekend away with the fab lushalicious girlies. I am sooo looking forward to a couple of days to scrap, gossip and have a good giggle. I have yummy new CHA stash and I am ready to go!

Mmmm, syrupy sugary goodness

2009-02-24T19:37:00.000Z

I love pancake day - flipping good fun if you ask me! I have mine with syrup and sugar (as if there weren't enough sugar in syrup lol!).
A few pics from today - Michael going through the natural phases of pancake tossing: number 1 - shock, number 2 - glee.

Mine went really high! Man I am good at this!

How scrummy does that look? I've just munched on 4 of these, and now feel vaguely nauseous!

Excitement!

2009-02-24T10:23:00.004Z

Fingers and toes crossed we are exchanging contracts on our house today with a completion date of March 12th so it's all systems go from here!

There's removals to arrange, packing to do and furniture to order. We have no sofa or bed so those are the priority items at the moment! We have been able to buy the current white goods from the vendor which saves us a whole lot of hassle yay!

Sofa wise it is between this one from John Lewis:

and this one from Marks and Spencer

I think we need to go and sit on them and see which is comfier!

I am determined to be organised about this move, so I have drawn and laminated diagrams of the new house, given each room a colour, printed off coloured labels for each room, and will be adding them to the boxes and tags. Overkill? Maybe.

This weekend I'm working nights and next weekend I'm off on a scrapping retreat (yippe, can't wait!!) so I think our evenings will be spent packing. Now I just need a list of where each item of furniture will end up, what boxes I want in each room and a box of emergency supplies!

Minibooking

2009-02-17T13:45:00.005Z

I had the idea for this mini book in my head for ages before I got around to actually making it - I wanted to document all the little details at our wedding that we spent so long agonising over, and that all together made the day what it was.
I used a lovely clear book which I've been saving for ages, and loads of yummy American Crafts Romance collection from Sarahs Cards.

Craft Room

2009-02-16T10:21:00.003Z

So the Scrapagogo girls are talking about scrapping spaces and I thought I would share mine :)
I use the second bedroom in our rented house, which is a wierd shape and therefore not really sioted to being used as a bedroom lol! It also doubles up as the dressing room and general junk room. I use one wall across the back for my scrapping stuff, although it has been spreading lately lol! My tools are glues are in the blue basket and toothbrush holders on my desk. On the left I have the TV and DVD player, my Cricut and iPod, cardmaking stuff and right down the bottom are albums. In the shelves under the desk are photos, blank mini-albums, rub-ons (I need another basket for these like my alphabets!) and stickers (ditto!), and recent kits sit by my knees.

I like to be organised, and I like everything labelled and in it's place! These drawers from Ikea have been covered on the front with some colourful patterned papers, and the drawers hold a variety of embellishments and goodies. When we move I plan to get more of these drawers, I'd like a whole wall of them really!! On top are some other boxes containing things that wouldn't fit in the drawers.

All my flat alphabet packsd are stored in a basket on my desk - easy to get to and flick through, I love having them to hand.

On the top of the big unit on the right of my desk is a mini-easel where I store latest layouts, along with my Primas and a whole bunch of magazines and books.

Some more shelves - these hold chipboard and inks mainly. The two boxes on top of here hold any themed bits and pieces I have for Christmas and for weddings. The white basket holds journalling cards, and the magazine file (also from Ikea, with the front cut off!) holds die cuts and a few bits that don't fit anywhere else!

This is my paper and card storage. I have it in a big RUB box, with normal foolscap file folders in it. The lid is deep so it fits 12x12 perfectly when closed, and when open I can get to the papers to flick through them easily. In this one I have more recent papers, some slightly older kits and "special" Bazzil like scalloped edges, bling and swiss dots.

I sort my papers by manufacturer, unless it came in a kit in which case it stays in the kit until a few months later when it gets dispersed amoungst the rest of my stash!

I have only recently changed my ribbon storage from all thrown in together in a big box, to clipped up on a hanger! I love nit like this - firstly it looks so pretty, secondly it is easy to look through, thirdly it is easy to find the end and no tangles and fourthly, once it is there I don't need to unclip it to get what I want.

Did I mention it looks pretty!

Lastly I have a lovely cupcake hodler from B&Q sat on my desk - this was meant to hold my latest purchases so that they were visible and accessible, but at the moment it holds useful tools and my cuttlebug folders. This will change when we move - I want it to hold all my new pretties!

So thats it, I ahve just got it how I like it and now we are moving in a few weeks time lol! Ah well, I do like sorting, arranging and tidying so I'll be happy to make myself a new space.

Cocktail Love

2009-02-12T15:31:00.002Z

Another layout that I created for Sarah's Cards using the yummy American Crafts Romance collection - this time I wanted to step outside the realms of love & marriage, so instead I went for cocktails! We drank far too many of these Lavaflow cocktails in Hawaii - a delicious mixture of rums, cocnut cream, pineapple and strawberries!

Cybercropping

2009-02-09T21:20:00.004Z

I didn't take part in the cybercrop on UKS as fully as I have for previous ones, but I still managed to fit in a few layouts, and am pleased with what I made. Making a layout from a pizza box was fun, and I am so pleased I managed to fit 12 photos onto that layout - quite an achievement for me. The photo on the last layout was taken at my friend's wedding last year and I love it, I was having a lot of fun twirling lol!
We went out for a lovely Indian meal on Saturday night with some of Michael's work colleagues - delicious it was, you can't beat a proper Indian restaurant! I drove in, but we ended up having to get a taxi back - no, not because I indulged, but because when we arrived back at the car we found the car park to be closed! It was also closed all day yesterday, so I had to go back today (luckily I'm on my week off!) and pick up Molly (yes, the car has a name).

Romance

2009-02-01T14:35:00.005Z

I can share a couple of layouts that I created for Sarah's Cards using the lovely American Crafts Romance collection.

This month I've been working with the kit, which you can see a sneak of on the website here - http://www.sarahscardsltd.com/gallery_45.htm. Such fun bright colours, it's perfect for summery photos, just the thing to brighten up a dreary february afternoon.

Discovering Picasa!

2009-01-11T17:03:00.000Z

I recently discovered Picasa - wow, what a fab little program, and completely free too! I made this photo collage of Halloween pics with just a couple of clicks, uploaded a pic of the finished layout, cropped and edited the photo - again just a couple of clicks, and am now blogging the layout directly from the program! This seriously could revolutionise the organisation of my pics on the PC, which is currently rather disorganised. In fact it's quite a shambles! Yay for Picasa!