Linking Up!

I didn't have a blog post for today
so what better way than to showcase the photos I have collect so far for

Rinda's 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt

There's a Linky Party today so why not link up with Rinda and leave some lovin' for a few hunters.

1.   Open air market

2.   Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3.   City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4.   Airplane

5.   A sunset
6.   Someone or something taking a nap

7.   A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny

8.   A tower

9.   A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong 

10.  A bench that is outside

11.  An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12.  A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13.  A fence

14.  A stained glass object or a mosaic

15.  A fire truck or police car

16.  A windmill
17.  Candle(s)
18.  Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop

19.  A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21.  A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)

So, there we are, a bit easier to see when they're all in one place!!!


 

Mosaic Making

Rinda's 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt 

is now in full swing and tomorrow she's hosting a linky party.

Please stop by and leave some love for a few of those taking part and you may get some Summer Lovin' in return!

I thought I would share my  

#14 A stained glass object or a mosaic

with you today...

I've had these little glass tiles in my drawer for years and I just couldn't resist :)

1.   Open air market
2.   Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3.   City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4.   Airplane
5.   A sunset
6.   Someone or something taking a nap
7.   A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny  8.   A tower
9.   A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
10.  A bench that is outside
11.  An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12.  A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13.  A fence
14.  A stained glass object or a mosaic
15.  A fire truck or police car
16.  A windmill
17.  Candle(s)
18.  Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
19.  A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21.  A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)

Snookered!

Another card I was asked for by a friend was a snooker card for her Dad and admittedly I was completely snookered for a while but finally came up with this...

I bought a new toy on Saturday ...

and I had some great fun playing around with it on Sunday.

There's a lot to learn but hopefully I'll get the hang of it soon.
Watch this space!

Warning! Spider Inside!

Yeah, OK, not a real one but made you look!!!

Here's a card a friend asked me to make for her son's 4th birthday.

The inside contains a drawing sheet for Harley to colour in.

I hope Harley likes it....

Naughty Pluto!

In those holiday photos I'm desperately trying to get through were these photos of me and Imogen at Disney, Anaheim last year.

I've always loved Pluto and therefore just had to have my photo taken with cuddly character himself!

We posed for the first photo before Pluto became very insistent that he wouldn't let us go until the second photo had been snapped...

Which is your favourite Disney character?

Rockin' My World!

Last week I joined in Virginia's Rocking Your World Friday and already another week has gone by and I'm back to reflect on my week and take stock.

Sunday, although we're still not allowed to watch, Imogen got 5 runs in her cricket match. Even though the team lost, she and us were delighted as she has always been afraid to pad up before now. I think her confidence is starting to grow.

Monday started out with my daughter going on her first date. Although very shy, first impressions of George by Mum and Dad are good!!!

Imogen completed her Be a Good Zookeeper at Chester Zoo on Wednesday. Working with the tropical birds she had a better than expected time. Unfortunately for me, I had 5 hours to kill and ended up rocking my credit card so I will be going home every day next week but one when she's at the zoo every day!!! I've got a fabulous new ring though :)

One of my school friends lost her Dad this week. I cannot possibly imagine what she must be going through but one thing I do know is that I will always cherish every moment I have with my parents and those people around me that I love dearly.

Afternoon tea with champagne on Thursday in Chester with my girl was yummy, just look at these delights that we had to force ourselves to eat - bang went the diet!

This week also saw me hand over the Guide accounts. This was the last of many things that I used to do for other people and I am now free to please myself and do what I like when I like.
There are so many ungrateful people in this world and I've allowed myself to be walked over too many times - it stops here - I can say "NO"

Has anything much rocked your world this week?

My Favourite Coffee Shop

Just a quick reminder about the new Use Your Words challenge blog, the word to inspire you until the end of the month is "story", will you tell us yours?



#18 Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop

on Rinda's Summertime Scavenger Hunt
in my opinion just has to go to 
Costa Coffee.

Compared to a lot of other places, Costa do the best Cappuccino ever (even better than Italy!) and my favourite Summertime drink is the Raspberry and Orange Cooler which is why I just had to get it in the shot!

 

10 photographs left...
Have you joined in with Rinda yet, you've still got plenty of time :)

1.   Open air market
2.   Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3.   City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4.   Airplane
5.   A sunset
6.   Someone or something taking a nap
7.   A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny 

8.   A tower
9.   A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
10.  A bench that is outside
11.  An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12.  A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13.  A fence
14.  A stained glass object or a mosaic
15.  A fire truck or police car
16.  A windmill
17.  Candle(s)
18.  Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
19.  A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21.  A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)

Shaping Up

Thank you for hopping over today. If Heidi sent you my way then it must be

 Blog Hop time again at the Counterfeit Kit Blog.

This month we have been asked to take inspiration from one of our Design Team.

At the beginning of the month I took inspiration from squares by Jemma and turned it into a layout.

Wanting to play along in our monthly hop I had great fun looking through the Master Forgers' blogs but eventually decided that the circles on a layout from my namesake Leslie would be my inspiration.

Back in June, Leslie created this cute layout.

I love the circles and the white space.

You would not believe how many times I have attempted to scrap these photos and every single time they've been returned to their folder without success.

Thanks to Leslie's inspiration, I have finally scrapped them and this is how they now look...

Thank you for visiting today - don't miss your next stop, Chipper will surely have something special for you....

 CKCB    http://www.counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com

Jemma    http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk
Heidi    http://handmade-heidi.blogspot.co.uk
Lesley G    http://ohblogitifyoucantbeatthem.blogspot.co.uk
Chipper    http://hotfudgesundaewithacherryontop.blogspot.com
Leslie    http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com
Maggie    http://maggiebscrapblog.blogspot.fr
Ashley    http://paperforpeoplellc.blogspot.com
Kate    http://kateblue.blogspot.com
Lynette    http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com
Milissa    http://millermall.blogspot.com
Elaine    http://chidkids26.blogspot.co.uk
Dawn    http://www.dawnsscrapbookcottage.blogspot.com
Lisa H    http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com

Plotting the Shops!!!

Not sure if I've told you lately but I really do have the most wonderful husband in the fact that I can buy as much scrappy stuff as I like and he doesn't mind. I joke that I sneak it in the house but I think that's for my benefit because he doesn't ask for a lot.

On our road trips in the USA I always do the driving (I'm not the best passenger) and he does the navigating.

"this map must be wrong" and "you've just gone past the turning"

are regular mutterings as we drive along.

However, one thing he does do well, is scrappy shop spotting. He always has a book in the side pocket of the car and patiently reads while Imogen and I "ooh" and "aah" over the prices in the States before coming out with bag loads of goodies.

This year, I thought I'd help and do a bit of planning beforehand and I hope some of my bloggy friends might help me out.

We will be travelling around the coast of Florida from Miami down to the Key, up to Clearwater, across to Daytona before heading back down to Miami.

Do you know of any stores along our route (apart from Michaels and Joanns) where I can stroke all those lush, cheap goodies...

Go on, help my husband me out - PLEEEEAAAASEEEEE!!!

Every year I make a journal with all the details of our trip in place.
It includes flights, car hire, documents for hotel and tickets for excursions etc.
Pockets are good for keeping tickets/documents safe as well as some kind of band to hold it all together.
This year, the Here & There paper collection has come in handy as it's mostly about travel and with a page of numbers inside it is perfect for adding the date to each page.

It's not quite finished, just a few bits to add but I do like how it's turned out.

Does Summer Inspire You?

Good morning to my regular followers 

and to those of you who have clicked a link on 

UKS

welcome to this week's Team Challenge hosted by little old me!

 In our house, Summer is officially here because DD finished school on Friday
and that means no more school runs for 7 whole weeks!

So what does Summer mean to me?

Sun/warmth (hopefully!)
Family Time/Together
Lazy Days/Days Out
Holiday/Beach/Sand

So, what does Summer mean to you?

Write a list (and I need to see your list!) and use at least one of those words on your project - 10pts

I was recently inspired by the wall in Pizza Express at Brent Cross Shopping Centre...

so for your next 10 pts, use lines on your project,

and to claim your final 10 pts you must eat an ice lolly use at least 3 of the following colours on your project.

I created the following digital layout as an example...

I hope you will play along and I look forward to seeing your creations as the week goes by...

Belated Rocking My World

What are you up to on this glorious Sunday.

My daughter has a cricket match this afternoon and doesn't like us to watch but I'm hoping, as it's a nice sunny day, she will reconsider and let us while away a few hours in the sunshine on our deck chairs.

We shall see...

Yesterday, I came across Rocking Your World Friday thanks to Jen over at Wear Crafts.
I just love the idea of reflecting on your week to work out the positives to think about the things that have made life more bearable and to share this with others. So, although a little late, here goes...

After a couple of hard weeks and worrying over a few things, it seems our lives have hopefully started turning a corner.

Monday came the news that, what we thought was a dead end was actually a misunderstanding and by sitting back instead of shouting loudly things seem to be moving in the required direction.
Wednesday, my Dad came over and we attended the end of year school concert. Imogen plays the violin. It was a beautiful evening with fizzy wine and strawberries & cream and some wonderful music played by some very talented teenagers. My Dad was quite overwhelmed by the amount of teenagers involved and we all had the best evening.
Imogen finished school for the Summer on Friday so the school runs are over for a while although I think this "Mum" taxi may still be heading in the same direction over the holidays as her "friend" has just asked her asked her out!!!

Anyway, back to those holiday photos. I love this one as it shows just how tall the Redwood trees really are as they poke their little heads out of the top of the fog in some kind of retaliation for covering them up!!!

I always print my photos in odd sizes and I wasn't sure how I was going to use this one.
It started off quite well but I'm not keen on how it's turned out.
Oh well, you win some....

Enjoy your Sunday, whatever you are up to...

And Another...

Today I will be indulging in a one hour full body massage and a one hour facial.

I don't normally do things like this but when Groupon/Living Social/Travelzoo deals come along, I jump right in and get the good deals.

Before I go, here's another of those 2012 holiday photos more deserving of a full layout than lost on a PL page.

The photos show us at the top of the Astoria Column having bought our aeroplanes to throw of the top.

Mine landed straight in a tree but Nick's and Imogen's flew down the valley before disappearing out of sight.

I wonder if anybody ever found our messages!!!

Will you be indulging in anything nice today?

Keeping Going...

Yesterday, I promised myself that I would get those 2012 holiday photos scrapped before my next holiday and when I get the bit between my teeth, there is no stopping me.

I had put my photos into PL style order as I didn’t think most of them deserved a page of their own.

However, looking through them again, there are quite a few that do deserve a layout to themselves.

Here are 2 from yesterday,

 one PL style and one more deserving on its own.

This photo shows us hugging the World's Largest Spruce Tree at Lake Quinalt, Washington.

(The tree is the World’s Largest Spruce with a circumference of 58 feet, 11 inches, diameter of 18 feet, 9 inches and 191 feet tall for a total of 922 AFA points)







With Imogen finishing school today 
I may not have a great deal of time to crack on
 with my promise but I will certainly
 be giving it my best shot!

Running Out of Time!!

With only 3 weeks to go until our next holiday I suddenly realised that I haven’t actually finished scrapping last year’s yet.

I’d put them all into Project Life style protectors then promptly forgot all about them.

So for the next few days I will be boring you with nonstop layouts so that I can finally finish our

Pacific Highway Road Trip Album.

 This one documents some beautiful views as we drove down the coast...

 

Sheer determination has now taken over. Next.....!

A couple of Things ....

Just a quick reminder that the Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop takes place on the 24th of the month.

We are short on numbers this month so please, if you have the time, get your name down by emailing counterfeitkitchallenge@yahoo.com before July 18th.

Another item on Rinda's Summertime Scavenger Hunt 2013 list is

#4 Airplane

Now, my husband works at the airport and we live under one of the airport flight paths.

My original idea was to lie on the decking pointing my camera up in the air and capture a plane as it banked over the house but, typically that flight path hasn't been used in weeks.

My husband offered to take a photo at work but, as I keep trying to explain to him, I HAVE TO TAKE THE PHOTO!!!

So, what to do?

We recently visited the Trafford Centre and there it was - the aeroplane

 BUT...

then I took these...

...last week whilst in Italy, it was like a plane graveyard on the roadside and my husband just had to go take a look!

BUT...

...I think this one is my favourite.

1.   Open air market
2.   Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3.   City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4.   Airplane
5.   A sunset
6.   Someone or something taking a nap
7.   A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny 

8.   A tower
9.   A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
10.  A bench that is outside
11.  An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12.  A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13.  A fence
14.  A stained glass object or a mosaic
15.  A fire truck or police car
16.  A windmill
17.  Candle(s)
18.  Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
19.  A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21.  A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)