ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 35TH OF 2025

 Good morning lovely people tis Friday time for 

So first up was a blood test last Friday to check on my iron levels, I got the results on Tuesday and all is good. 

We had a lovely catch up with my sister on Friday, we had a thorough catch up which was much needed and put the world to rights.  I miss my Mum when we do these catch ups as I know how much she used to enjoy a good chin-wag.  We popped to Ikea in the evening and I smiled when I saw this little set of spooky side plates for autumn

Saturday we were up and out bright and early to go to our son and daughter-in-laws home, they are getting things ready for the arrival of their baby in the autumn and there is still lots of things to do.  Said 24 year old was in the kitchen and hubby was helping, he completed the cooker hood and put some little shelves up and our son managed to get a panel prepared which he finished off the following day. 

In the meantime me and my d-i-law worked on the office, which is going to have a dual role moving forward of office space for son who works from home as well as baby's bedroom.  They had originally thought about building a wall but have chosen something less permanent in the form of a Kallax unit.  This was the room that everything that didn't have a home got put when they moved in, so it wasn't just a tidy it was a mass throw out session too and throw out they did.  They both did awesome at getting rid of unwanted items much of which went to help the local charity shop.  Hubby helped me reposition a unit inside a cupboard to maximise space and by the end of the day whilst there was still a fair amount of sorting to do the room was looking more like a bedroom.

Sunday we genuinely collapsed in a heap and had a book reading/chilled day making the most of the late summer's sunshine.  Hubby spotted this spider's web on the arbour and loved how it was refracting the light, apologies for the poor photo quality. 

Monday was a bank holiday, the last main one before Christmas, we had a tootle around the house and then popped to my niece's home for a cuppa and a catch up before finishing the day sat back outside enjoying the sunshine before coming through and having what I call a warmed through tea.  We had identified some cooked meat in the freezer that needed using up that I thought would make a fab burrito so we got some bits sorted and laid out this banquet and before you ask no we didn't finish it as it was so filling. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were very busy days work wise, I worked from home Tuesday and worked 13 hours, but I was on with the audit and wanted to make some headway on some other key tasks. 

Thursday our first day off of the week and we've spent it deep cleaning the drying room and it looks sooooo much better.  We've also had a fettle in the office as the aftermath of helping said 24 year old last week was a huge amount of shredding that needed doing, unfortunately our shredder has been on its last legs and we are going to need to replace it, but the pile of shredding has nearly disappeared now so it isn't a major hassle. 

And that my lovely people was the week that was.  

I hope yours has been awesome too. 

Hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY (AHEM SUNDAY) 38TH OF 2023

 Morning all

Tis Friday (ahem Sunday)

time for 

So last Friday we had a busy day cleaning, you know one of those when it goes beyond the 'quick whisk around with a duster and the hoover' and turns into a full blown sort.  Well my planned hour of cleaning turned into three and a quarter hours but the house was far better for it at the end, so I really mustn't grumble.

We then headed out and picked up some autumnal bits I was after and enjoyed crafting in the afternoon turning the items into other things.  I altered some pillow cases to make cushion covers and then the remnants I made a runner for the table. 

In the afternoon we both headed for the craft tables for a few hours, before we got ready and headed out for a birthday meal.  Hubby was making a ring for said 23 year old to give to his wife with a piece of rutillated quartz that he had bought, hubby was on a mission to finish it. 

The finished items

and hubby enjoyed some 'smithing' time. 

We had a lovely meal in a local pub celebrating not only my birthday but also said 23 year old's birthday and my Mum's hubby's birthday too, so celebrations all around.

Saturday and off to do some more decorating at said 23 year old's place.  We managed to get a bit more papering done, hubby took out some wood and some coat hooks that they wanted rid of and then filled the same and we set too with some beautiful green paint on the stairs.  It is really starting to take shape now. 

Sunday we enjoyed bringing the boat back from the basin in Sheffield, it was a very early start but thoroughly enjoyable it has to be said.  There was me and hubby, said 23 year old, my sister (as she's doing her boat training) and my Mum as well as a host of other volunteers.  It is always a fun day albeit very tiring. 

Monday and a day working from home on funding bids and the rest of the week rushed along at a merry old pace if I'm honest, far too much work but it had to be done.  Thursday we managed to submit the funding bid as well as preparing other documentation that needed sorting before I found myself at Friday. 

Apologies for my tardiness on this post, I've been meaning to get it done all weekend, but it just didn't happen! 

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 45TH OF 2020

 Good Afternoon lovely people time to look back on the last 7 days for it is time for 

Well I managed to assist my sister last week by going and painting her hall stairs and landing, she's always had an issue with the stairs as the paint often cracks, but with the use of anti-crack paint, I think we may have sorted that issue out.  It was just a lick of white paint and some glossing but the difference is amazing.  

We had spent some time last week making some Halloween silhouettes for the windows as we knew the trick or treaters weren't allowed to knock this year, so we thought this might prove fun.  We were really pleased with the overall effect and it raised a smile with the local kids. 

I was aware that my sister's guest bed had an issue, so whilst she was out at the gym the other day me and hubby popped over wearing our lovely masks and hubby mended it which meant the roll out piece which makes it into a double could finally be put back away.  She was over the moon when she got home and realised what we had managed to do.  

So I'm grateful that despite social distancing there are still ways of helping people that really need the support and we managed all that before heading into the new national lockdown. 

I've been making progress on my Christmas list this week and preparing and sorting a few things that definitely needed to go in the post sooner rather than later as I'm aware there are some backlogs of post in the system currently. 

I had a busy work week and when there was an issue at home on Thursday my boss was brilliant and just told me to take the rest of the day off and suggested I took a day's TOIL on Monday so I could relax and have a nice weekend, which is what I've done. 

Then finally on Thursday night we had a little fireworks and bonfire party in the back garden, just the three of us.  Hubby lit the outdoor fire and we had jacket potatoes with cheese and hotdogs with onions, before having a small assortment of what I call 'plant pot' fireworks.  It was really lovely to sit outside chatting and putting the world to rights and reminded me that sometimes it is the little things! 

I loved this photo of said 20 year old with the sparklers 

I hope you've had an awesome week and that the world has been kind to you, if you fancy joining in pop a post together come back and link up so we can come and visit. 

Rocking Your World Friday - 45th of 2019

Morning lovely people tis Friday time for 

Well this is going to be a very very short post this week, namely because we succumbed to the dreaded lurgy. 

Hubby went down hill over the weekend with the virus and I joined in as I arrived home having seen NT Live Midsummer Night's Dream (encore) performance in a gorgeous little cinema called the Curzon that I didn't even know existed in Sheffield. 

And I will be truly honest this virus has floored all three of us, me and hubby completely wiped out for the entire week, yep no work for either of us.  We have coughed and spluttered through it all and with the aches and pains I'm pretty sure this was a flu bug we got.  So why on earth am I talking about it here you might ask.  Well our workplaces allowed us time to recover so that's a positive, we've enjoyed lots of hot drinks, curling up on the sofa and managing temperatures with ample tablets from the pharmacy - so I'll call that a win - a tiny win but a win nonetheless. 

We did manage (royal we - hubby) managed to carve the pumpkin, only thing is we didn't get any trick or treaters, but in hindsight with our lurgy that was probably a good thing and said 19 year old has thoroughly enjoyed the plentiful sweeties we've had in. 

I loved the reflection in the window 

The only other thing I've managed to do this week is to wrap an advent calendar gift that I'm in a swap for, I really enjoyed making the tags a few weeks ago in the shape of a coffee cup. 

And that my lovely people is that I'm afraid, I'm grateful hubby managed to make some food for us on quite a few evenings this week (as I definitely wasn't up to it).  I'm glad Wentworth Woodhouse cancelled the Gaia exhibition last night because of the weather, because we wouldn't have managed to make it due to illness anyway.  I've managed to rebook for next week when we will hopefully be well and truly over this bug. 

I'm grateful said 19 year old's girlfriend arrived safely yesterday (if you've seen the flood pictures from the north of England today you'll know what I'm talking about). 

I hope you've all had a beautiful and blessed and lurgy free week, if you fancy joining in pop a post together come back and link up and we can come and visit. 

OH IT'S BEEN A WHILE

Morning all, well it's been a while since I did regular blogging, not sure why it stopped if I'm honest, perhaps life got in the way, perhaps the Summer was simply too awesome to be sat at a computer - nope not that one.  But I find myself in September, my birthday hurtling towards me as if I'm not offended at being another year old and Autumn is upon us.  Crafting has taken an exceptionally long hiatus, actually scrapbooking has, crafting generally is threaded through my life in some format if I'm truly honest!

But I really do want to get back to recording the journeys through life in my scrapbooks, so I thought a blog post and input from you lovely people might help.  Strangely the blog folder is not bare as it were and there are still a good few layouts for me to share, so that's where I shall start.

This first layout I've actually shared before minus the photos, the papers were from Jen at Wear Crafts and I'd had them an age before I finally turned them into a mini-book, but they were so utterly cute that I wanted to create a couple of layouts as well, so I primed them hoping I might get a couple of Halloween piccies that would do the trick, needless to say last October said 14 year old and hubby did not disappoint!

Here they are pretending to throw up the pumpkin - I have no idea why - they obviously found it highly amusing however!

I think perhaps they were emulating this - all I can say is boys! This is another layout using the final dregs of that kit, I really loved those papers, they had amazing glitter on!

Next up sculptures from last year's Beyond Limits at Chatsworth and on the grounds that this years is about to commence I thought I had better share.

And said 14 year old priming the pumpkin, some of the fun is from the preparation itself!  The papers were part of a Secret Santa I took part in last year and these too are making a come back, truly can't be at that time of year already!

So the hope is that by emptying that folder I put my best foot forward and stop climbing on the sofa and start sitting at the craft desk, we shall see if it works.

FINISHING OFF THE BLOG FOLDER

You will remember that I've been sharing some of the remaining items that have been lurking in my blog folder for some time. 

First up a birthday mini book for my friend's daughter

I send them blank with lots of add ons and some double sided tape so she can fill it full of photos relating to birthdays and parties etc. 

The inside of the book was quite simple as the papers were really effective, the book is in the style of the one I created for the Wear Crafts National Scrapbook Day in 2014

And these are a selection of the pages and pockets

Here is the link that relates to the original post with a downloadable instructions for this book if you fancy a go yourself

I also did some fun mail art last October, when asked to do a guest blog post over on the Weird Scissors Blog, check out their blog here

And finally the UK Scrappers stocking I put together last year with some of the contents, the main reason for sharing it, is that it's the first time I've made a stocking and I was rather pleased with the finished result

Hope you have a happy scrapping day!

LIFE GETTING CLEARER - NOT EASIER JUST CLEARER AND HALLOWEEN LAYOUTS

I'm always amazed at how when things get tough and difficult to deal with that crafting provides that amazing outlet which lets you just 'be'.  I photographed loads of layouts recently and I can't tell you how positive and happy looking through them made me feel.  So many fantastic days out, actually that is one thing I will say for my scrapbooking, one of the reasons why I love to do it is because my scrapbooks are photographed diary entries of life - but you know that don't you, but for me scrapbooking makes me go out and enjoy life.  Day trips out, places to visit, documenting things as I go.  Enjoying walks through bluebell woods, sea side days pretty much everything.  I'm sure that our lives would not be so varied and interesting were it not for my passion to document 'what we do' and doing the same thing day in day out means it's not interesting so you have to mix it up a bit.  A visit to Harewood recently and I was thinking well we've been here before what can we do that's different and they had a play festival on and before hubby and said 12 year old knew what was happening I was signing them up for a sand sculpting class - just because it would provide something different to scrapbook - they loved it - so win win!

What do you do to keep your scrapbooking fun and different?

Anyway I digress (quite a lot of the time as you can see), todays layouts to peruse all stem back to Halloween last year, my niece decided to come dressed up as the Black Swan - she looked amazing and I got some fabulous photos of her!

I also managed a fun photo of her which I just had to scrapbook that blowing out of the cheeks made me giggle so much!   Using one of Mary-Anne's quote cards again - like I keep saying uber versatile on the scrapping front - click here if you want to see Mary-Anne's original post

And finally the two carved pumpkins done by my brother and his girlfriend that they brought on the night!

That's it from me for today so the question is cleaning or scrapping - cleaning or scrapping - mmmm scrapping i think - catch ya later