Boodles

Last week I bought a Boodles Bag Kit from Hobbycraft.

I've seen Boodles Kits in TKMaxx but thought they were knitting kits but now I know...

Anyway, I adore this bag

and now I have the pattern and more wool on order I might just be making a few more.

My Crazy Family

Before putting the remains of my 

October Counterfeit Kit back

 into my stash I wanted to get one final layout from it.

Knowing that I had certain items in my kit

 I just had to use them with the 

photo of DD and DH acting the fool with my "gorilla" 

whilst at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic Park.

I had nipped to use the little girls' room and came out to find them, 

well, see for yourself...

Mad aren't they!!!!???

Blue Peter Style

Good afternoon!

Just a quick share of a couple of previously made and unblogged layouts...

I have so much catching up to do - luckily I work better when I'm short on time :)

I'm Lovin' It!

With the new crocheting hobby going pretty well, DD is constantly asking me to make her this, that and the other!!!

So far she's asked for a crocheted camera bag like this one...

a beanie, socks, gloves and that's to name just a few.

A friend of mine has also asked for these...

seriously!!! I've only had four lessons!!!

Anyway, I have made a few things.

As well as the 24 poppies, I've made a crochet hook roll...

a scarf (my Aunty sent me the pattern and this will be a Pay It Forward gift) and a beanie...

and now I'm onto the matching gloves.

So far I'm loving my new found hobby!

Better Late...

OK, so I'm late joining in with this one...

Challenge #3: Grid Design Challenge  
Use a grid design for the elements...or photos...or paper for your project!

... but here it is anyway.
It's very plain and uses a very simple colour combination but I quite like how it turned out. 
I started off using a different photo but ended up using this one of my girl posing on a Florida beach.

Did you join in with our Grid Design Challenge?
Don't forget to Link Up

Simple Cards

Remember yesterday when I said that some of the Hipster papers by Basic Grey reminded me of Christmas, well what do you think?

Midtown certainly does to me - it reminds me of Christmas baubles.

Here's a very simple card using the Christmassy side of the paper...

 and a birthday card for my Father-in-Law using the reverse as well as a couple of strips from the "vintage" paper

Pretty versatile paper don't you think?

This One's For You Jen!!!

Knowing that Jen is probably one of Gary's biggest fans,
how could I not dedicate my first page to the lady at Wearcrafts who made me grin from ear to ear when she asked me to be on her team.

 Jen kindly sent me the papers and alphas from the  Hipster Range by Basic Grey to play with.

This layout uses "Nifty" & "Hip" as well as the alphas.
I have also used decorative clips and a photo frame from the
 "Hello" collection  and a few wooden die cuts from my own stash.

You can't really see on the photographs but the confetti falling around Mr Barlow matches these papers perfectly.

Some of these papers make me think of Christmas so there maybe a card to share in the coming days...

Oh How I'm Rockin!!!!

I haven't done a Rockin' Your World Friday post for a couple of weeks but this week (and since I've been gone) I have a lot to share and be happy for.

My uncle is making a great recovery following his heart attack a couple of weeks ago.

 

Putting my new hobby to good use, I have so far made 30 crocheted poppies and raised £90 for

The Royal British Legion - this is a charity dear to my heart and gave me great help when I was injured in the forces. My aim is to raise £100 through the poppies at which point I will also donate a further £100 to Help For Heroes.

Last Friday I attended Manchester & Salford Magistrates Court.

Some of you may remember a few comments I have made on my previous Rockin' posts.

Here's the story....

On June 21st whilst attending a Robbie concert at the Etihad Stadium my 14 year old daughter was forcefully kicked in the back and catapulted into the row in front. The assaulter was a drunk 54 year old "woman". Since then, we have been battling for justice. She was interviewed by the Police and pleaded not guilty some two months later. Luckily for us, we had an independent witness (I will forever be grateful to her for giving us her phone number on the night) which helped our case and last Friday in court the "woman" decided to do the decent thing and plead guilty.

It doesn't end here but we now have the ammunition to move forward and FIGHT!!!!

My daughter amazes me more everyday. She was awarded some compensation in court ...

"Mum, we're going to have a girlie day out with the money so I can treat you for all the worry you've been through"

Even on the night of the assault she said...

"I'm glad she kicked me Mum and not you because you already have problems with your back"

This week is Half Term here in Cheshire and on Monday I had the best day with my daughter (not paid for by her) we went to Manchester for a girlie day and I surprised her with a theatre trip to see Wicked.

What a wonderful show that is.

Anyway, the icing on my cake came (as some of you already know) on Wednesday when the lovely Jen from WearCrafts also asked me to be on her new Design Team. You can see my post HERE.

We would love you to "Like" the Wearcrafts Facebook Page

and Jen also has a fab blog HERE.

So since last Friday things have really turned a corner for me and I really hope they stay on this "happy" track.

I hope some of my happiness rubs off onto my readers.

Wishing you all a very happy week and hope you will pop back to tomorrow to see what I have created with some of the rather delicious 

Basic Grey "Hipster" Collection 

 that Jen has sent for me to play with.

Ring Bling

It's Counterfeit Kit Blog Hop time again and I am sure Lisa and Valerie have already made you squeal with their wonderful creations. The challenge this month was to be inspired by jewellery.

About 10 years ago, Mum bought me and my sister a Clogau Gold Tree of Life ring each and it hasn't been off my finger since. 

Over the years so many people have commented on how beautiful it is and maybe one day I'll actually scrap the story of the ring but today I am using the design to inspire my layout.

"Inspired by the story of the great Tree of Life, this ring features a beautiful intertwining filigree design. Incorporating wild vines, leaves and berries the Tree of Life ring symbolises the natural beauty and evolution of all life."

Instead of leaves, I have intertwined the hearts around our photo...

...added a few gems, mini hearts...

...and the journalling along the twine reads
"I am always grateful when we are smiling together"

Want more inspiration? 
Bridget is next on the hop list before finally landing with Jemma.

Thank you for hopping by today - maybe next month you too could join in with our hop - watch out for the post on the 4th of the month...

CKCB    http://www.counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com
Lisa H    http://lisahausmann.blogspot.com
Valerie    http://myrainbowcoalition.blogspot.com/
You are here>>>>>Lesley    http://ohblogitifyoucantbeatthem.blogspot.co.uk<<<<<<You are here

Bridget    http://sobejoss.blogspot.com
Jemma    http://just-jimjams.blogspot.co.uk

The Icing on My Cake

I squealed with delight yesterday when the lovely Jen over at 

WearCrafts 

asked little old me to be on her new Design Team.

I don't think Jen will ever actually know how much that one question meant to me.

 "think about it" she said 

 "what is there to think about?" I asked 

"YES, YES, YES" I squealed

Some of you know the story (I will reveal all on Friday) and believe me, this was truly the icing on the cake for me this week.

 _____________________________________________

 stock a great range of items, 

always have special offers 

and with free P&P on orders over £40, 

it's always worth a look.

Jen also runs crops and has a stall at the Ross Papercraft show.

 

Jen has kindly sent me some Basic Grey "Hipster" papers

to play with and I would be delighted if you would pop back every now and again to see what I've done with them.

In the meantime why not nip over to the Wear Crafts Facebook page to say hello...

Why Not Join In?

Have you seen what's coming up on Jennifer's Blog?

This was great fun last year with lots of inspiring projects and challenges.

Why not take a look, leave a comment (along with other things) and be in with  a chance of winning a prize?

Frosty Festivities

I'll be joining in, will you?

AWOL

With a few "issues" at home now cleared up, I can get back to crafting and blogging.

I really don't like being away but sometimes, we just have to sit back and take a break.

It's been over a week since I last played with paper and today I will hopefully get back in the swing of things but for now I will share  few cards that I made last week. These are the last of the ones my Sister asks for every year and she has already emailed next year's through!

Let's hope the recipients like them.

Right, where's that paper...?

For A Good Cause

As some of you may know, I have recently started crocheting.

 I've had 4 lessons so far and can't quite believe how easy it is.

I thought I would put my new found hobby to good use and make some crocheted poppies to raise money for a charity close to my heart "The Royal British Legion".

They helped and supported me when I was injured whilst serving in the Armed Forces and I like to give  a little back when I can.

I am selling my poppies for £3 plus postage and every £3 will be donated to the RBL.

Thank you in advance x

It's Been LOVEly but...

...this is the last challenge on the Use Your Words blog.

The final word to use as your title or in your journalling is "LOVE"

and however much she hates it, I just LOVE this photo of my daughter.

So, that's it, another chapter closes but loads more scrapbooking and crafting to get on with...

A Girl's Dream Day

Saturday was a day of scrapping, chatting, eating, spending and catching up with old friends.

What more could a girl wish for?

Pink Booby 8 and raising money for Breast Cancer Research was the reason.

I've never been able to go before but I will certainly be going again.

12 hours of scrapping - well apart from the bit where we sneaked out to go to Sincerely Yours down the road to spend a bit more money!

Anyway, I managed 5 layouts and here's the first...

 I'd cut the big glasses on my cricut before I went and decorated using a stencil.

 I really love how this page turned out with the punched stars.

BLEU(gh)

 Don't you just love a great image to get that mojo flowing?

Just look at this for the Punky Scraps inspiration this month.

The idea is to use stamps as well as the image, create a masterpiece and link up to Punky Scraps by November 15th.

The colours, the shapes and the general design got me playing with stencils, stamps, inks and paints this month.

(Thanks to Jemma for the fab title)

How Could I Resist!!

Last month, the Design Team over at Counterfeit Kit were asked to counterfeit one of the CHA new releases - do you remember my post?

A little reminder - I chose the BoBunny Zip-A-Dee-Doodle Collection and stepped out of my comfort zone to get creative.

A couple of days after creating my forgery, Scrap 365 blogged about their new  

October Sketch Challenge and the prize, yes you've guessed it the
BoBunny Zip-A-Dee-Doodle Collection.

So how could I resist entering using my forgery in the hope I might have a chance of getting my hands on the real thing.

My only hope now is that Bo Bunny think the same as Mr Colton

"Imitation is the sincerest (form) of flattery."-- Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)

and don't sue me for copying their kit!

 

Stereorama & More

In the Cocoa Daisy September Kit there is a pack of 

Basic Grey Acetate Photo Frames

 

Now the round one intrigued me and before I could begin to counterfeit it I needed to know what it was called. A number of Google searches failed before phoning Mum and Dad who, after a couple of attempts came up with "Stereorama".

Another entry into Google proved correct and gave me plenty of images to work from...

After several attempts I finally got the size and how to punch the squares so here is how I did it...

 Tools required
Compass or die cut, pencil, ruler, hole punch, ½" square punch
(2" square punch & notebook punch for the film strip)

1. Cut out your  9½ cm diameter circle and mark at 0-180º, 30-210º, 60-240º 90-270º, 150-300º & 150-330º

2. Draw another circle 0.7cms from the edge

3. Using the lines as a guide punch your squares.

until you get something like this...

 4. Mark one square as shown

 5. Using the corner of your square punch cut out two "v" shapes where you marked above
6. Punch holes in between the squares using your line as a guide and one in the centre

6. I them embossed mine...

To make the film strip...
1. Start with a 6½ wide by 13cm long strip of cardstock.
2. Mark lines as shown at ½cm, 4½cm and 8½cm

3. Using the lines as a guide and using your 2" punch, punch 3 squares.

4. Using your notebook punch (mine is EK Success, you may need to alter your original measurements if using a different make) punch down both sides...

Cut and Paste (well, just a little bit)

A few months ago I bought nearly the whole collection of Cut and Paste by MME from the lovely 

Jen at Wear Crafts.

I don't know about you but I tend to squirrel the gorgeous stuff away so I don't have to cut it - daft really when you're a scrapbooker but I'm sure some of you will relate to that!

 Anyway, today was the day to play and I have finally cut into one (yes, just one) of those gorgeous bits of paper.

Next Saturday I'm off to the Pink Booby 12 hour crop and I think I'll be taking this collection with me to cut into a bit more...

Don't Look if You're Dieting!!!

Another week has gone by which means it must be

Rocking Your World Friday 

hosted by Virginia over at Celtic House

The idea is to look back at your week and focus on the positives rather than dwell on the negatives.

I have always been quite pessimistic and these postings really do help to chance my way of thinking.

This week, for me, has been a bit of a foodie week - three lunches out since Tuesday already.

Being vegetarian, here is usually one dull and boring option so imagine my surprise when there was a choice of three very tempting options to be had. I chose the Halloumi and Edamame Bean Salad

followed by...

My husband also celebrated his 44th birthday this week and a very good friend made a carrot cake especially for him

I'm loving my new course and this week my new crochet hooks arrived - look at how colourful they are

This week I've learned how to crochet a circle and in my jewellery class, how to make felt.

My new favourite drink...

...hot chocolate orange.

What has Rocked Your World this week?