A farewell to California

I am a little sad posting this layout! It is the last one in my California albums. I have ended up with three very full albums and I love them all! I decided to finish with a 'holiday in numbers' and am really pleased with the result.

This photo was actually the last one taken on our holiday. We didn't take any at the airport on our way home and this was taken as we came out of Universal Studios.

And so ends our holiday! I feel that our Silver Wedding celebrations are now over! Oh well, onwards and upwards, I've my Italy holiday to do now!

Two layouts to share

Not quite the very last for the California album - I have one more to share with you which I will do soon along with a quick look at the three, yes three, albums that they have gone into!

This layout is all about how we purchased the Front of Line passes as we were only at Universal for about 2/3 of a day and wanted to make the most of it. I managed to include the pass itself and our two entrance tickets.

This layout is about the props we saw everywhere. The one of me with cut outs from Snow White and the Huntsman was taken to make Penny jealous!

And here is a close up of the journalling from this layout.

I actually made these layouts a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't got round to posting them. This week Hugh and I had a week off work, just chilling, Christmas shopping and getting some jobs done around the house. Apart from making some Christmas cards, I created a layout for my colleague at work who is celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary in December and quite a few layouts. I will get around to sharing those with you soon! Back to work tomorrow, but I at least I am feeling nice and relaxed.

Almost there!

I'm feeling a little sad that my California albums are nearly completed! I know that I can always grab another photo and add it in at some point, but this has been such a big part of my life for over a year, but at least it means I'll be able to finish 2012 off before 2013 ends!

This was another of those papers bought in America printed with the Hollywood sign and the hills in the background. I struggled with using it as a whole until I decided that I didn't have to, I could cover up the top of it and it would get use and the important bit would still be seen.

The letter stickers were some I have had for ages and they were just the right colour. I dug through my stash to find journalling cards and stickers which went well with the papers from bits I had left from doing the albums.

The gems were a strip and I cut them up and used them up! That is what I am really trying hard to do with old stash now - use it or lose it! I've given away quite a bit to friends recently of stash that I really won't use and they have been really happy to receive it, so it is a win/win situation.

So, I know that I have probably two or three layouts of Universal Studios to do and then I want to do a closing page for the album. I've got a few ideas for that, but I think I will probably go with a 'numbers' page, similar to Julie Kirk's Month in Numbers, but it will be 'holiday in numbers'. Watch this space!

Do you know the way?

Well, the words of the song are actually 'do you know the way to San Jose' and we were going to Los Angeles, but the words of the second verse are apt 'L.A. is a great big freeway', so I went with that for the title on this layout!

This is the last page with a map on it from the wonderful itinerary book we received from the travel agent. I am so pleased that I have managed to include them all in my albums.

A close-up of the journalling - just loving enamel dots at the moment! They are so expensive though! I've got quite a lot of gems and pearls in my stash and some Candi dots so trying to use them up and save the enamel dots for special pages!

My second layout today was taken at the same roadside stop just off the LA freeway. It was a page I knew had to do - it is so typical Hugh!

I'd run out of question marks for the title, so decided to make it a statement rather than a question!

I was pleased with this embellishment cluster - I feel it strikes just the right note!

And a close-up of the journalling for you.

I spent a lovely weekend but am now on my own! It was Hugh's birthday on Saturday and both Ben and Penny were home for the weekend. We went out for a meal Saturday evening (Rachel joined us) and then on Sunday Hugh had to leave at lunchtime to go to Berlin on business. Ben took him to the airport at Southend and then returned to eat an early Sunday roast with me and Penny. I then took Penny to the station to catch the train back to Canterbury and then Ben and Rachel returned to Reading. So, from 2pm Sunday I was on my own and I scrapped for hours! Hugh is back tomorrow and then we have another busy weekend coming up! I'll try and get some photos of Hugh's birthday uploaded to my blog to share with you soon.

What happened over my weekend.

Well, we were busy again! My weekend starts Friday lunchtime and as it was the last Friday that Penny had as holiday we went out to lunch at Nandos which was lovely.

Saturday was lovely, sunny and warm, so Hugh spent the whole day in the garden doing the autumn tidy up. I cleaned out the chickens, dodging the conkers which were falling off the tree into the chickens' enclosure. I felt like Chicken Little - the sky is falling! The rest of the day was taken up for me with shopping, cleaning, washing and ironing!

Sunday was a little more relaxing, but still involved a trip to Canterbury! This time I drove us there to make sure I know the way for when I go down to see Penny on my own. I made it without going wrong, which I was very pleased about! We parked at Penny's flat and unloaded the bookcase and her clothes and moved them into her flat - phew, the last things! We then hopped into the car and drove into town to have lunch at Wetherspoons. We had a lovely meal and then Hugh drove back whilst Penny and I took a stroll through Canterbury to walk our meal down.

After a cup of coffee at Penny's flat we left her there to start her new term today. It felt very strange not having her in the car whilst we were driving back and once home the house seemed very quiet. As we got home fairly early I dived into my stash and created two pages - not the ones below, as it was too dark to photograph them once I had finished. I will share those later in the week.

These two layouts I made a couple of weeks ago for my California album.

Sorry, Blogger messing me about here, can't make it centralised!

I love the papers I have used in the layout below - I used a Shimelle sketch as inspiration. The hearts were cut out of one of the sheets of paper - I am sorry, I cannot remember which brand it is and I am typing this at work so can't go and look it up!

And here is the journalling in close up.

Well, I am home alone tonight as Hugh is away on business in Wales. It is going to seem very strange, just me and the cats! I think my choice of tv, a nice dinner and then an early night! I might squeeze in some scrapbooking too thinking about it!

Oh, just before I go, I must wish my Father-in-law a very happy 91st birthday! I hope that he enjoys the cheese hamper we sent him for his birthday!

A quick post for Friday

A different sort of weekend ahead of us this weekend! I am NOT going to Canterbury! I can hear you gasp! This evening Ben is coming home to regale us with his tales of Madagascar and share his photos. Of course his Mum will also need to have some of those said photos Dropboxed to her so that they can be scrapped!

On Saturday his girlfriend Rachel will be joining us and then we are going to Barleylands for the 'Fayre Times Festival'. This looks as if it will be great fun. It is a first for us, but we are all into this sort of thing! I am charging the batteries up of the SLR as we speak and hope to get some good photos!

On Sunday I am having a day out with the girls! Wendy, Sue and I have tickets for 'The Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show' at Alexandra Palace. They are arriving at our house at 8.30am and I am driving us up. I am really looking forward to this. I went with Wendy last year and we had great fun. I expect the boot of the car to be full upon our return (the trunk for my American friends!).

I thought I would quickly share another layout I have done for my California album. This details how we were upgraded to a suite when we arrived at the hotel in Lake Havasu. I used my Cricut quite a bit for this page.

A close up of the journalling.

And a quick look at a pinwheel I made and one of the items I cut out with the Cricut.

Whatever you are up to this weekend I hope you have fun! Don't forget to pop back tomorrow to see which of my photos made it into my final choice for Rinda's Summertime Scavenger Hunt as she will be having a round up that day.

Sunset Crater

On our way from the Grand Canyon to Lake Havasu we stopped at Sunset Crater, which you can read about here. As the photos seem very dull I decided to go with some bright papers to try and brighten the page up!

I used papers from Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm and some other bits and pieces from the stash I have for these albums.

I have been converted to enamel dots! I usually use gems or pearls, but I love these! However, I have quite a stash of gems and pearls to use too and the dots are quite expensive, so I will be using them sparingly and trying, in the meantime, to use up my gems and pearls so that I can justify buying more dots!

I am still taking a photo a day for LSNED and trying to find a lesson or something to be thankful for! Some days it is really hard, but I am getting there - well we are over half way through now! If you are doing it, how are you getting on?

Last Grand Canyon Layout!

I bought this paper whilst we were in America and I was determined to use it, even though I find printed papers like this quite difficult once I get them home! They always seem a good idea at the time! However, once I had the photos chosen this came together really quickly and I am really pleased with the result.

I love fussy cutting and cutting into the bunting on this journalling card was exactly what was needed!

We are looking at another busy weekend, with another familiarization trip to Canterbury for Penny. Only 4 boxes to take this time and they are her books! We also need to get that warmer duvet down from the loft! The forecast isn't brilliant, but I am hoping to get into the garden and pick the apples that are left on the trees - a lot have fallen and been eaten by birds and wasps as we haven't had the time to gather in our harvest! Then there shall be some apple cakes, crumbles etc cooked no doubt! What are you up to this weekend? Whatever you are doing have fun!

Celebrating a birthday in the Grand Canyon

Another layout for my California albums (onto the 3rd one now!). I used a Shimelle sketch for this one as I liked the idea of a sunburst for a celebration. It was also a good way to use up scraps of paper.

'Bo' is my nickname. When I was a baby my Dad called me 'Beckybo' and the 'Bo' part has stuck. Not many people call me Bo now - but Hugh does nearly all the time! If he calls me Becky I know I am in trouble and if he calls me Rebecca I run lol!

I was pleased to use some buttons on this layout as I haven't used any for ages and I do have quite a stash of them!

The weather here has turned really nasty - rainy, overcast and so cold in the evenings and mornings! I went to bed last night with the duvet, a blanket and then my dressing gown! I really need to get the winter duvet out of the loft at the weekend and swap it with the summer one. I am determined NOT to put the heating on until the 1st October, so we are wrapping up in the evenings and last night Penny and I watched tv whilst sitting on the settee under a blanket. I am not a miser, but once the heating goes on I feel winter has arrived and I don't want winter yet!

King of the Wild Frontier?

This is based on Shimelle's Glitter Girl layout, number 77, which was actually for a title page, but it works just as well for a layout mid album!

I got out my Big Shot and cut out some stars and then found that on my Cricut Gypsy I had the Cowboy font and so cut out the guns and the title lettering - I like that lettering a lot!

All the papers are from Echo Park 'This and That', as are the letter stickers above and the stickers used in the layout. I bought most of the papers last year to use in this album but hadn't made much of a dent in them, so I decided to really make use of them in this layout!

The only thing not from the collection are the little stars here, which are Studio Calico - and they took me about 20 minutes to find; I knew I had them but could I remember where they were!

A little more crafting

So, as promised, here are the other two layouts I made last Bank Holiday Monday.

Another layout for the California album. I have now just about filled the second album and so will soon be putting an order in to Sarah's Cards for another one!

And another Grand Canyon layout!

I used a Shimelle sketch for this layout and am pleased with how it turned out. Loving these papers too! They are more from the kit I bought second hand from UKScrappers - see more layouts here.

Bank holiday crafting

Phew, what a week that has been! It started the Tuesday before the Bank Holiday weekend when I woke up with a migraine. I phoned into work feeling very guilty as I had the rest of the week off and it seemed as if I was playing hookey, which I wasn't, but I always feel guilty if I have to take time off work!

Wednesday we drove to Cornwall to visit Hugh's family for a short trip. I still had a really bad migraine and slept in the back of the car on the way down, whilst Penny kept Hugh company. We stayed in Cornwall for a couple of days and got back early evening on Friday.

Saturday saw me and Hugh putting the flooring down in the dining room to finish off the decorating. It took the whole day, was not easy, but we kept calm, didn't argue and it got done - even if Hugh did manage to hit his hand with a hammer and break the skin and need steristrips on it!

Sunday was jobs day and once they had been done I actually managed to complete this layout below, which I had started at a crop about 3 months ago!

I had to add the title, some more embellishments and the journalling.

And here is the journalling in close up for you to read.

After doing the ironing on Bank Holiday Monday and a trip to the tip to get rid of all the old flooring, I was able to spend the rest of the day crafting. Yes! The conservatory is free of decorating 'stuff' and I was able to easily get at all my stash - happy girl!

This was a layout I had been promising to make for about 3 years and finally got around to with photos taken on our Shropshire holiday this year.

I actually did another two layouts too, but I will share those with you another day. This weekend sees us going to Canterbury with the first load of boxes to move Penny into her flat - don't think that much crafting will get done over this weekend!

Look what I found!

Yes, I found that I had a layout in my album which I hadn't shared with you! I've not done any scrapping now for about a month, what with our holiday and the new kitchen and then the subsequent decorating. Our 'man' is coming in to do the tiling and finish off the kitchen starting 12th August and hopefully Hugh will get the dining room finished pretty soon too! Then we can settle back down and I can get some scrapping done.

Anyway, I digress! I had made most of this layout when I went to Wendy's one evening to scrap - it just needed its title and some journalling, so I threw them on, photographed it and here it is!

Yes, another layout for my California Road Trip album (well, second one now). I made the photographs into a pocket so that I could store the leaflet from the Hoover Dam which we were given when we went into the visitors' centre.

I used up two packets of Thickers making the title! Well, I had a couple of letters left on each, but decided that it really wasn't worth keeping them any more. I am trying to use it, donate it or lose it at the moment as I really have sooo much stash! I would rather use and donate than throw away, but when you have a sheet with 'x' and 'z' on it and not much else, it really is time to throw it away!

Until I have some more layouts to share I will probably share some photos with you of our trip to Italy. We had such a wonderful time and saw some wonderful sights.

Oh yes and I had a letter and layout published in this month's issue of Scrapbook Magazine! I was thrilled. It is so nice to see your layout in print.

Crafting in chaos!

Whilst the kitchen was being put in I had a couple of days off to 'supervise'. I couldn't get into the conservatory to use my stash or desk as all the new kitchen was being stored in there. I was BORED! I NEEDED to scrap! I couldn't do housework (well there was no point as everything kept getting dusty) and I had done the gardening. Then I remembered! I had bought a Noel Mignon kit off the Marketplace at UKScrappers and it was still sitting in the lounge. I managed to clamber over the boxes in the conservatory to grab my cutting mat, stamping box and double sided tape and I was set to go! Scrapping in the lounge!

My photos were handy, so I chose a couple which would go with the kit and a sketch from Shimelle.

The papers in this kit, and the embellishments, are lovely. Some are Crate Paper The Pier (my passion as you know!) and the others all co-ordinated with those ones, so lovely summery papers.

I did another layout during the day, but I will share that with you another day!

A couple of scraplifts

I came across this blog, naniwale and just loved the way she had used the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan polaroid frames. When Penny returned from a couple of days away with her friend Laurz and a load of photos on Facebook I new exactly what I was going to do with them!

I had the paper sitting in my stash for ages, wanting to do something special with it and I am extremely happy with the result. I also used another A/C polaroid frame paper (sorry, can't remember which collection!) to finish the layout off.

The second scraplift is from the June/July 2013 edition of Scrap365, using the sketch from the layout on page 27 by Wendy Antenucci.

I wanted to do a page with several small photos on it of our trip to California to go in my main 2012 album, which then refers whoever is looking through the album on to the 3 albums which have all the photos/journalling in detail.

I love the colours I have chosen with this layout and the fact that I have managed to use some flowers on it - I haven't used flowers for ages!

This weekend sees a lot of upheaval for us as we are having a new kitchen put in starting on Monday, so we have to move everything out of the old one! We are lucky that we have a utility room which we can use as a temporary kitchen, although all the crockery, appliances etc will have to be boxed up and put into the conservatory. I will be home on Monday and Tuesday to supervise the builders and then Hugh has the rest of the week off and I can escape to work! The project manager has assured us that it will only take 5 (possibly 6) days, so we should have the bulk of it done by the following weekend, although we will then have to decorate, tile and put down the flooring. At least I will be able to use it though! And of course, photos will be taken every day to record the progress and make a page for the album!