MID WEEK POST

Morning all - how you doing this morning?  I cannot believe we are on Wednesday already.  I'm having a particularly tough week (nothing new I hear you say), no playing with crafty items, just two very very long work days under my belt, two difficult meetings today and the gym later added to which I've got a vile cold that just won't leave me alone!  On the plus side had a good old heart to heart with my Mum and sister last night which was probably a little overdue and hopefully that will re-synch us (a little anyway).

Need to make some changes - you know the one when you are rattling around the same four walls (literally), need to explore new avenues and do some new things, even hubby is struggling at the moment.  He is doing the work, home, looking after his Mum merry go round (his Mum has alzheimers but still lives in her own home, obviously he has to do a lot for her given the circumstances).  We do however, have a willing volunteer to babysit on Saturday - so gulp - we're going to have a night out - what the hell is one of those???? No idea where we will go or what we'll do - it always turns into a bit of a damp squib if I'm honest because we are so out of the routine of going out together - but I'll try and put my thinking cap on and come up with something that will prevent that!,

Anyway - thought I'd just pop to say hello and hope all my fellow bloggers are managing some great craftiness at the moment!  I've had a quick catch up this morning but feel like I've still missed loads of blogs out so will be doing more catching up later!

In the meantime a layout to prove I still do do crafting just not at the moment - this is sooooo not my normal style if I'm honest, pale muted colours - me - really?  But they really seemed to emphasise the moody picture don't you think?

As you'll see I add to the papers with cut circles and then stitched around them with a muted blue embroidery thread

I then used some 6 x 6 papers (that I normally use for cards) to cut out and create the title.  I also used a piece of muslin fabric that the gorgeous Susie sent me before Christmas with some ribbon and some embroidery thread, I didn't know if this embellishment would work but was really happy with the overall effect - what do you think?

Up close the cut papers

At the weekend I started to empty my scrapbag (which is always a bit worrying) and started to cut lots of shapes to make embellishments with, I'd seen some gorgeous embellishments in a shop at the weekend and then I'd seen the gorgeous price tag and thought - really?  I'm sure I could make something on those lines couldn't I?  So I set too with my Big Shot, some stamps, some stickers, some foam dots and some glossy accents.  I'll show you what I made when I get chance - it might inspire you to reach for your stash and make your own rather than reach for your pocket?

Hope you're all having a beautiful and blessed week - hugs and sparkles!

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY

Good morning fellow Rockettes, I'm preparing this post as I go this week (well that was the plan, started Friday, abandoned til Thursday - such is life) as I want to remember all the tiny positives this week as well as the huge ones!

Last Friday proved to be an awesome day, sometimes you have a positive day overall and it's nice to remember that.  So apart from the lengthy work meeting (and it was lengthy) I loved

1. The links from Joanna's Rocking post last week - the "how to set your microwave on fire" had me crying with laughter
2. Closely followed by her link to damnyouautocorrect.com which was simply hysterical, I'd only just put my make up on when I started reading and can honestly say that there wasn't a lot left on my face by the time I'd done because I was laughing so much tears were rolling down my face!  So a massive grateful to Jo and in turn her son for pointing me in the right direction on this.  I managed to read the first 16 pages of 1164 on Friday and they all keep moving down with new ones being added all the time LOL! 
3. Reading books on the bed (post shower) was lovely drinking a gorgeous coffee made by hubby who then promptly dosed off on the bed. 
4. Managing a walk around a shopping centre without buying anything other than tea!
5. A romantic meal for two when we got in, listening to music and chatting by candlelight, nothing finer!
6. Reminiscing about people who are no longer here, even though it's painful remembering the good times is always a positive and also means you remember that life is for living to the full!
7. DH doing overtime (which usually makes me go boo and yeah at the same time - boo he's not at home, yeah a bit of extra money always helps)  But then all the computers stopped working which meant - yeah he got home after only been gone a couple of hours - so we had him all to ourselves for the rest of the day! 
8. DH also came home with news of a 'fun' activity to do because a work colleague had recommended it - a trip to the circus.  Now you'll be pleased to hear it was an all human circus I wouldn't have gone if animals were involved, actually I don't even know if animal circuses still exist well in this country anyway!  So we popped and got tickets and were there in the big top for 5pm.  It was an awesome show, major acrobatics, spinning, jumping, climbing, scaring the living daylights out of me if I'm honest but the finale was the globe of death (big metal cage with motorcyclists going around inside - gulp) and the wheel of death (they need to come up with some better names for these things LOL).  It was great and we all thoroughly enjoyed.
9. Sunday brought with it blue skies - gorgeous bright and crisp we set off for a jaunt out to the Crich Tramway museum for the day, we had great fun climbing on board the old trams, getting out tickets, going along the woodland walk, popping into the gem shop, having a cuppa in the restaurant, all was good and the best thing - we can go back for the next 12 months free of charge with our ticket with the exception of 5 dates!  How cool is that, I particularly like the look of the Alice in Wonderland themed weekend - now that looks awesome! 
10. Managing to catch up with the England France rugby match via the internet because I really couldn't find it on the TV anywhere, I knew the score but DH and said 11 year old didn't but the news had indicated it was a great match, so we sat and watched from beginning to end, shouting and yelling and having fun - great match and to add to it - we won! 
11. Next up is time together, there is something so ultimately precious about spending time together and enjoying each others company, capturing those moments - awesome stuff! 
12. Dry day on Saturday meant dry washing - washing off a clothes line is so much nicer than washing off an airer don't you think?
13. I mowed the back lawn, in about 20 minutes before the gym on Saturday (hubby thought I was losing the plot LOL).  But it means I can see the tete a tete daffodils far better now the long grass is no more.  
14. Meal out on Wednesday night with hubby and said 11 year old just the three of us, chatting about our day, hubby had put himself under some pretty awful stress recently and hadn't discussed the same with me so he looked maxed when he got home on Wednesday, a good talk, working through the issues and things rebalanced themselves - so the ability to talk through issues! 
15. A brief telephone catch up with sister who has been extremely poorly in the middle of the week was good.
16. I had a couple of 'off days' due to having too much on at work but hubby and said 11 year old just know me and know that in those scenarios space is the best thing for me - I do sometimes wonder how they put up with me - honestly!

So that's my list this week, I'm too frazzled brain wise to be able to put some more together, but I'm sure there are some if I'm honest!  It's been another lengthy work day and I've only just finished off, DH is making mushroom soup, I've not seen said 11 year old all evening and I'm very very tired (it's Thursday evening by the way), check up at the Doctors tomorrow followed by more work - yes you guessed it!  Hopefully at some point I'll get the chance to actually stop and breathe, but for now I'll just say that my little list of gratefuls really do help me appreciate the good things in my life on a continual basis and I hope your list of gratefuls do the same for you.  So if you fancy joining in with us then pop yourself a blog post together and then come back and link with Mr Linky so we can come and visit you in your little part of the world.  No blog - no problem, just put some gratefuls in a comment below - I love to receive comments, it's so nice to connect with the world and I do have times when this doesn't seem to happen as frequent as it should!  No time to post a comment, give yourself a few minutes to think about your positives if you don't think you've got any - dig deep - there will be some there no matter how small - I promise! 

A bit of crafting for you (as I always put a little something - not that I've been anywhere near my crafting table recently).  First up a bright spring like layout (not my norm at all - of said 11 year old meeting my sister's cat Boo for the first time last summer).

 then another atrociously photographed reddish layout documenting my birthday cake and all it's candles last year!

 I wouldn't normally swear on a layout - but it felt appropriate given my age LOL!

So there we go - another post done for another week.  Hope your week has been Rocking for all the right reasons - Mr Linky for you all

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY

Well we're here again on a Friday which can mean one thing and one thing alone - what's

what's created the positives in your week, the silver linings, the moments you've smiled or laughed, doesn't matter whether they be large or small if they lifted your heart they were 'rocking' moments!

1. my blog commentors - you are all awesome and have lifted my spirits this week - I am forever grateful for your comments as we wander around this beautiful earth 
2. Music after having had no amp for some time I finally said enough was enough on Saturday and we went out and bought a relatively cheap system it's not got the highest quality of sound but it does play music and it does play it loud - which is what I wanted - so hurray for music!!!!
3. My hubby - he really is fantastic, he listens, knows just how I am, lets me rant and whinge and moan and then always asks - "what can we do about it" and he means it, it's not a throw away comment but what can we do to make things more positive and this makes me happy - so he definitely rocks my world! 
4. Online ordering - my supermarket shopping being delivered once a week to my home is awesome for I dislike supermarkets with a passion!
5. Witch hazel for giving me some relief from my burnt finger on Thursday allowing me to start typing this post. 
6. A day off last Friday wandering around charity shops looking for more board books! 
7. Tete a tete daffodils in the back garden, so pretty and such an awesome blast of colour!
8. Flowers from hubby a bunch of gorgeous red roses and a bunch of stargazie lilies (that doesn't look spelt properly but you get what I mean).
9. Blog followers recommending toe by toe to me after last weeks post, just negotiating with said 11 year old that he'll actually commit to do it! 
10. Neil at the gym for having more belief in me than me and allowing me to be utterly sarcastic all the way around the gym on Wednesday night 
11. Living in a free country where we are not oppressed, watching the news this last few weeks its often easy to forget how lucky we really are where we have the right to opinion and being able to express who we are.
12. Dentists for giving me a clean bill of health this week, now just got one more health check test to book for and I should be back up to date.
13. The odd new recipe we've been trying successfully
14. Starting to treat cooking as a joint moment to create nutritionally good food in the kitchen together, rather than something we throw together because one of us has to.
15. Acrylic paints for reminding me that you don't need 'special' supplies to create great art!
16. Asda for stocking black cartridges at stupid o'clock on Thursday night
17. Radio 4 - Just a Minute program
18. Ross Noble for being extremely funny
19. Colours undercoat and primer for being a darn sight cheaper than gesso in a bigger pot doing just the same job.
20. My sister for ringing to find out how I am when she's the one that's been so poorly! 
21. The lottery for providing a winning ticket on Saturday - not a big winning ticket but a winning ticket none the less, just glad as DH had seen fit to buy 5 of the damn things with only one a winner LOL! 
22. Black dagger brotherhood books for providing utter escapism at the moment - something I'm definitely in need of with work being so crazy!
23. Cheap DVD's from Amazon
24. Royal Mail for delivering things safely to us - even if I did have to go and pick them up!

Well the list is certainly shortly than last week, but just as meaningful, I hope your week has been full of silver linings and positives.  If you fancy joining us then simply post a blog posting (and don't stress if it's not Friday when you manage it), letting us know what's rocked your world, then pop back here and link up with us so we can come and visit. 

As always leave you with a quick bit of crafting before Mr Linky

REMEMBERING TO BREATHE ON THURSDAY

Thursday, THURSDAY, I mean Thursday, I don't know about anyone else but I can't actually quite grasp how we've ended up here so quickly?  I mean that means tomorrow is Friday right?

Yes I know I know two posts in two days what's going on with the world?

I thought I'd say hello, yesterday was a difficult day because I am mentally demanding more at the moment, not sure why, I think it's the shift in seasons again, long dark days seem to have gone on  for far too long and I'm growing a little tired of them.  Perhaps its the all work and no play (although my layout count to date might disagree with that).  I'm not sure what it is but hubby gets grumpy wife on a Wednesday night again bless him and as always he sits and listens.  But I know it's down to me to make some changes, so we finally managed to get back to the gym last night (well I did the other two did squash as teen gym was full) and Neil at the gym put me through my paces, I mean quite honestly he put me through my paces, he had me pushing 70kg on the leg press when I started I was doing 20kg LOL and in all honesty I didn't think I could do it, but apparently if I've got someone stood yelling that I can do it then apparently my brain believes them and manages it with relative ease (not sure what that's all about), I've come on in significant leaps and bounds at the gym and am enjoying being more active, having greater flexibility bearing in mind my ridiculously dodgy back what is frustrating me is that the scales aren't showing an ounce of difference - maybe I need some new scales LOL!  maybe the key is going to be measurements but in all honesty the scales need to be doing something before I start to throw my toys out of my cot!   This is turning into a whinging Thursday post isn't it - grrrr - wasn't intended just putting my thoughts down as it were.  Well I think what I need to do is acknowledge what I'm doing is good, that I need to stick to it constantly and that I need to keep active mmmmm wonder where that will then take me.  I've got 3 weeks before my fifth appointment at the gym where they will measure me, I need to be looking at making big changes for then.

Anyway enough of my ramblings, how are your days - no really how are they?  What do you do on a day to day basis, because mine seems to be work, scrap and TV at the moment with an odd dose of the gym and I think I'm getting bored, but I can't remember what else I can do to make it more interesting so I'm genuinely asking what do you do?  That way I can maybe take a leaf out of your book and shake things up a little.

Right on with some crafting the first documenting our annual visit to the local church for the Christmas tree festival, I enjoyed doing this layout because it had a pattern on it already which I managed to 'add' to as I have a poinsettia stamp which I cut out of other paper, then layered up on foam stamps, I also cut the 'bunting' at the top.  I tried to take some close up shots, but it's the red again and was pre-info from Sarah so you'll just have to guess LOL!

This one is a double page layout from the show we went to see at the local theatre using purple again - not sure what's happening with the world and me and purple anyone would think I had an explosion of purple papers to play with but I don't!

 Up close

 

 So there you have it my Thursday post back here tomorrow for a Friday post let's see what I can pull out of the bag for that one.

MID-WEEK POST - HOW YOU DOING?

Morning all, well I've just caught up with my blog reading, always a good start to the day and wow hasn't everyone been busy.  Me?  Well I completed layout number thirteen of the month so far, two days ago so had a night off last night, if I'm honest I was absolutely shattered a very exhausting and somewhat frustrating day at work, it was one of those needing to do a specific piece of work just not sure how to go about it and I persevered and persevered and persevered and then came home, plonked myself on the sofa and was fast on for 10pm exhausted.

I know a couple of you have asked how the hypno slim is going and the answer is strange.  I'm finding it hard to find an allocated time slot that works every day that means I can listen to my MP3 player for a starter and then I've just not been eating consciously.  I mean it sounds like an excuse but have you had your breakfast this morning?  If you have how was it?  Did it taste nice?  What was it? Did it take you long to eat?  Did you do anything else whilst you were eating it?  Is it a favourite breakfast or just something you have at that time of day?  Were you actually hungry when you ate it?  If you've answered no to any of the questions above you probably didn't eat consciously either it's soooooooooo hard, to slow down and actually acknowledge what you are doing, we run full tilt through life dashing here, there and everywhere and eating has become part of the multi-tasking day that we often run through and this in turn often leads to over eating.  So that's why I've been struggling.  Now does this mean it doesn't work - as a system that is - nope it works provided you follow the rules, I'm trying to re-establish the rules so that I can continue along this path - I'll let you know how I'm doing.

On with the crafting without further ado, I have to say that this is one of my favourite layouts that I've done in quite some time, taken last summer whilst we walked around Chatsworth house said 11 year old sat next to a huge Amethyst cathedral meant only one thing - a purple layout!  

 Up close, hand stamped title, duly coloured in with some gloss accents, layered together with a mix of double sided tape and foam squares to raise alternate letters up and a bit of hand stitching to add to the same

 and then this gorgeous embellishment, sent as part of a goody bag from the gorgeous Susie before Christmas, I did wonder how I might use it at first, but apparently Susie is psychic and knew I would need some sparkly jewellery type embellishment for this layout!   Thank you Susie!

As I've got a few badly photographed layouts I'll start throwing those at the bottom of the page so here is one, thankfully Sarah has given me a few handy hints to prevent this happening again, but as these are now all safely tucked up in albums my original poor photography will have to do!

 Just to show you the true colour of the page - this is what it should have looked like!  I love the piccie on the layout, because it doesn't show my double chins (notice plural) and the only way we achieve that is to take the photo from above, but I'm not married to a giant so I need to start thinking about this hypnoslim a bit more and not overriding the system!

So what's your Wednesday like?  Mine is a slower start because no breakfast club at school (not that he ever eats breakfast there), so not leaving house until half eight ish, then 6 hours at work with one meeting and one impossible task to complete, followed by gym this evening being put through my paces by someone a lot fitter than myself then collapse in a heap!

Hope you have a great day!

SUNDAY BLOG POST

Afternoon all, well it's a very wet and rainy day out there today, and we're having a very slow day today, I blame the bottle of wine last night LOL but with nowhere to venture to, we're enjoying spending time together as a couple as said 11 year old is up in his bedroom playing lego XBox etc.  

The sides are still adorned with board books and images at the moment, such fun finger painting this morning.

And the reason for being here on a Sunday afternoon, I thought I'd share the Grinch layout I did from the Christmas tree festival we went to last year, this was my favourite tree with great decorations made by the local children!  

 I really enjoyed the colour take I did on this one, using loads of different papers from different manufacturers doesn't always work but in this case it seemed to!  I used a chipboard Christmas tree that I painted pale blue and put a hand stamped title on to create the overall title for the layout!

I also used up some brads that I've had a while in bright lime green! 

I hope your Sunday is treating you well 

THE FUN OF BOARD BOOKS

As some of you may be aware it was Carmen's birthday this last week and I've been puzzling over what to make her for quite a while.  The last circle journal book I had was a children's board book and I really enjoyed working with it (I'd forgotten what fun they were).  Anyway as the idea for the present started to formulate I decided a children's board book would be a great starting point, so off to the local charity shop and I put my hands on a tall thin board book which I quite happily dismantled (with the help of hubby dismantling and sanding as I can't stand sand paper), then I set too with a few magazines and started to think about the story.

Carmen was originally intended to take part in the rock in peace resurrected circle journal that started late last year, but due to having too much on decided to bow out at the last minute, however, this was not before she'd decided on what she was going to ask us to do with regards to a circle journal which was a rock fairy tale.  As she left the group before the circle journal really got going this 'idea' obviously ended up shelved, so I wondered if I could do a book for Carmen that would include the idea.  I also know she has a love of the Grimm fairy tales so quite a lot of time was spent trawling the internet looking at the stories.  Eventually I came across the story of the raven which I'd never read and before I new it I was working on a re-writing of this traditional tale.  A flurry of paint, gluing, sticking, typing and retyping and the finished book came together and unusually for me who always thinks these need something else I was actually happy with it once it was completed.  So here for my fellow circle journallers and anyone else interested is the story of the rock raven.