Embellish your World

Photos from the cruise

Eventually after recovering from poorlyness, catching up with housework and the day job, and coping with no laptop (typing this on a new one) I can finally share some holiday snaps.

Just a few pictures the last one of which featured on one of the two classes I taught last weekend at the 10th ATDML scrapbooking retreat.

I still need to add my journalling to complete the page which used Simple Stories AWESOME range of papers and painting through the Prima brick mask.  There were some fab variations of the class which is one of the things I love most about teaching. My second class used MME Miss Caroline papers and I created two pages... something to see on my next blog post which won't be in weeks time!

We're home

Not quite the indulgent cruise I had imagined for us as I sadly was quite unwell for almost half the trip, but I cannot wait to cruise again! I wouldn't have considered such a holiday had it not been for my friends deciding to marry on board Ventura but I can safely say I'm hooked. I already have my beady eyes set on a Norwegian Fjords trip.next May, I just need to save pennies for it now!

The kids all had the greatest time, loving the kids club and the freedom they had, indeed we barely saw them. Truly would have been wonderful had I not have been ill and been able to fully indulge in the wonderful facilities on board and indeed disembark at all four destinations not just the first and last.

Plenty more photos to follow but here's one from the first evening when the whole trip was ahead of us.

I know I've been quiet...

...but I am still here honest! Have had so much on this month that all I have been doing is updating my facebook via my phone in between to-do lists! I very much need my forthcoming holiday, a first for the five of us abroad and we are beyond excited! One of my very best friends will be getting married aboard the cruise we are about to take aboard this lovely ship , P&O's Ventura.

We have posh frocks & high heels for the girls and super smart tuxedos for the boys, I can't wait to take a zillion photos on what is sure to be a holiday of a lifetime for us.

Not long after we come back I will be teaching at the 10th ATDML scrapbooking retreat which I am equally as excited about. I am teaching two classes, one designed and finished, the other a work-in-progress to have photos added to and a couple of bits and pieces when we get back! The class list loks as amazing as ever and I for one am having a hard time chosing which ones to take! Of course between the two events we have easter too so plenty for April as well as March, but I will endeavour not to be as quiet as I have been blogging!

I'll leave you with one of my March ATDML Gallery layouts - a scraplift from Simple Stories blog which you can read more about here.  See you soon lovelies xxx

Simple Stories is here!!

Yippee!! Simple Stories new collections have arrived in the UK. Head over to A Trip Down Memory Lane to check out Aweso(ME) a fab boy collection (already in my happy hands!) not to mention their stunning Documented collection and the pretty girlie one too... My shopping basket was bulging I tell you!!

More EGGSploring!

My job took me in to the City of London today for a technical update in Accounting run by our Auditors so I was able to collect a few more eggs when the course was over before jumping on the train and heading back home. 

We had already collected a couple from the City Zone map on Sunday as we caught the train home from Liverpool street but my photographs of these too were pretty poor as it was late and the light was fading, so I snapped these two again today, along with the others I found. Missed photographing a couple somehow (maybe because I was scanning the bar codes to log I had collected them, checking them off on my map and then working out where to go next each time!)

All of the EGGS are fab, but some of them are just AMAZING including this one just outside The Royal Exchange. And I was really in love with the hen painted egg Chicken Crowd at Monument too, such great detail in it..just wonderful.

Missed a couple in this zone (I have 18/21) so will have to pop back! Takes my total eggs collected so far to 67, just under a third! Hubby, the boys and I are off up to Southbank on Sunday for some more and may head back via Liverpool Street to get the last three in this zone! If you want to find out more about this EGGstravaganza in London go to the Big Egg Hunt webite HERE>>>.

Oeuf we go!

Ouef (french for egg) we go!...My blog post title resulting from a treasure hunt of sorts yesterday which a group of girlfriends and I undertook as part of the Faberge Big Egg Hunt - London 2012.

We had a great day EGGsploring the streets of London using the Zone maps available on the website. We completed Green park, did most of Covent Garden and several from St James Park and Mayfair zones too - 52 eggs collected in one day!

and so I have many egg photos to scrap a few layouts but I am thinking a minibook may be in order too (as I have lots of pictures from this day out alone!). I can't wait for the new Simple Stories 6x8 minibook supplies to arrive in the UK (from their CHA2012 release!)

Over 20,000 steps clocked up on my pedometre for the day which compensated for missing both boxing classes this week as I have been out and about (Kaiser Chiefs Thursday - awesome! and eggs yesterday). I also missed swimming tonight due to a pulled muscle (coughed too hard!) so I need to be super good on my eating choices this week if I can't get as much exercise in. Hopefully this muscle will ease soon and I will be sorted for boxing this Thursday, then it's all systems go excitement ready for Matt Cardle LIVE at Cambridge Corn Exchange Saturday night!!!

February ATDML Gallery is up

I have much blog catching up to do after a couple of real busy weeks with work and poorly children/half term but for now I wanted to share that the gallery for February is up for ATDML. I created lots of projects this month and a welcome run of creativity meant I had all my projects done within a weekend!

A nice simple page to start with, multiple photos, plenty of journalling, pretty papers - just as I like them!

I then mixed it up a bit for this next layout of my youngest and his first passport photo which features papers by My Minds Eye, Bo Bunny and, my favourite at the moment, Simple Stories. Even had a bit of a spritz on this page using Pumice Stone ink mixed with water in a tiny mister - great fun now I have practiced more! Again multiple photos here (albeit many of the same image - but they cost nearly £10 for six and I only needs two to send off!) and plenty journalling once more.

Another page, mostly with the My Minds Eye Lost and Found 2 papers this time is a single 6x4 photo layout cos the papers were too pretty to cover up much more! A rare layout about me, but I am eager to do more as I am sure my kids will be as interested in learning about my life as recalling their own.  I need to do more pages about my mum too and managed to get some nice shots of her and my dad with my kids at a family party last weekend.

Plenty sharing there, and how sparkly are those papers?! I have another layout, a card and giftbag I created too. I will share those later this week, but once more it is later than I realised and so I must away to the land of nod! ttfn lovely people x

Snow good

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Over 6" of the white stuff fell from around 8pm Saturday night, throughout the night for us to awake to a world of white Sunday morning. Despite having been unwell with a high temperature, cough and cold Jamie was desperate to get out there (as was his super eager big brother) so we went for a little walk, wrapped up super warm and rewarded ourselves with hot chocolate to warm up after! Not the greatest photos (taken with my phone) as I was too scared to fall and break my good camera in the slippery conditions! Still, they make me smile and capture our little adventure out.

That hot chocolate, coupled with three course meal at Jamie's Italian restaurant in BlueWater on Friday lead to a small 1/2lb weightgain this week. I also missed a week of Boxercise but plan on getting back on track first thing tomorrow. (the food was soooo good though, highly recommend it!)

Another starting point challenge

Another starting point challenge layout from Shimelle and using some ANCIENT papers that I found whilst clearing a shelf in the craft room. Captured the eXtreme Jamie and his love of slides, photos a few years old too, the little man turns 5 next week... I know, how did that past by so quickly?

No more kids under 5 from next week, boo :(

The layout features some brickwork stamping which also features on one of the layouts we will be making at the ScrapMates crop next Saturday, that and some misting!

I also finished the "and now for something completely different" challenge on UKScrappers as taught by Shimelle. Luckily I already had the papers so it was a pretty easy page to pull together, especially with my out of this world funny photos!

phew, enough sharing for now... must go create more!

F F F F reeeeezing Feb!

How cold is it? Seriously chilly out there and I must admit I thought twice about going for my walk last night with my neighbour Tracy. We are walking each Wednesday evening to build up to the 15k night hike in May for a local cancer charity. Last night we managed 7.5k in just over an hour and 15 minutes and that was in sub-zero temperatures and wearing many layers!! It is definately hibernating weather and I shall be happy to be playing with paper and glue in the warm with friends on Saturday at Eclectic in Colchester. I am picking up the kits for the February ScrapMates crop too so will have much to be playing along with. If you too are scrapping this weekend how about using this sketch over at Created by ATDML as your starting point? It was the inspiration behind this page of the very lovely Matt Cardle (I now another Matt page but honestly that is only 2 now!) which uses MME lost & found 2 papers. Remember that sneak peak I shared?

I also used my original manual typewriter recently obtained via freecycle! Love it to pieces and the kids do too (great for them "playing" but learning at the same time!) It isn't perfect but I like the quirky appeal of the slight smudge that sometimes occurs!

And so to bed I go with a happy heart as I have a day off tomorrow (YAY!) and am going to Bluewater in Kent for a Creative Stitches show. Nothing like a nice bit of retail therapy to put a smile on my face - oh and of course my pedometre should pick up plenty of steps mooching around all day!!