Rudolph Day - February

Di, Pixie's Crafty Workshop, has reminded me that today is Rudolph Day over at Mo's Scraps of Life. What would we do without our friends to keep us right!

So here's my card for this month's challenge.

Once again I've used a card received at Christmas to create the topper. I just trimmed it down to fit the 6" square base, made by cutting a 12" square sheet of brown textured cardstock in half and folding it. The patterned paper used for the background is a piece leftover after making a scrap layout and the red cardstock the topper is layered on to is from the snippet mountain. The greeting was also cut from the same card as the topper.

As Rudolph Day sneaked up on me this month I've just got the one card and that suggests that I should maybe get on and make a few more if I don't want to get caught out at the beginning of December.

Thanks for popping in and happy Rudolph Day to you all.

Friday Smiles

Hello Smilers

Joining in Annie's Friday Smiles ... a bit late but I've been out spending the children's inheritance at The Range today.

It's an extremely cold day - only 5C degrees - but I've had a quick wander round the garden and there's quite a lot to smile about despite the freezing temperatures.

The miniature daffs, Tete-a-Tete, are looking better this year than ever.

Newly planted up pots of Pixie Iris with snowdrops promising a bit more colour soon.

Primulas waiting to be potted up - the pastel shades are so pretty.

Rhubarb - also waiting to be planted out. I just have to decide where it's going 

... oh, and for the weather to get warmer!

Got to share this.

This quilt was made by the members of the Cake and Crafting Group I go to on a Thursday afternoon. Two of the squares were made by yours truly. It's going to be entered into a competition at the SECC Craft Show next month. Wish us luck.

Finally, no funnies this week but I thought you might enjoy this lovely smiley photo.

My grandson William with his son Callum on a visit to Loch Lomond. Smiles like that just melt this grandmother's heart.

Hope you've had much to smile about this week too and that you will have a wonderful weekend.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 455

Morning Deskers,

Firstly, and most importantly, I must apologise to you all for not visiting and commenting last week. No real excuses except that we had an incredibly busy week of hospital visits which, for reasons I don't entirely understand, I found exhausting. After all, how can sitting about in waiting rooms be so tiring? Whatever, I found I had no energy for anything much at all. Hopefully, with no hospital appointments lined up, so far, this will be a better crafting week. That said, I think I should show you all What's On My Desk Today.

It's that jigsaw again! It's the one that Annie, aka Wipso, showed us a few weeks ago - see here. Once it was completed, dismantled and put away in the box again she very kindly sent it to us for the EM, with help from me, to have something gentle to keep him occupied while he recuperates. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to work on it until now ... the delay is a long story but it involves two sofas, a one new, the other old, and an overcrowded dining room! As Annie says the jigsaw is too big for a coffee table, the dining table is temporarily unavailable, so my craft table, once cleared, is the only one big enough.

In the meantime, every other available surface is covered with stuff. I have a plan though. As a purely temporary measure it's all going into the spare room so that I can get back to a bit of crafting. And between times, we will be able to work on the jigsaw too.

Right, that's me for today. Time to join in over at Julia's, check out your desks and leave as many comments as I can.

Take care everyone, happy WOYWW and have a great crafty week.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Valentine's Day

Hello Everyone,

It's not just WOYWW but also St Valentine's Day and my desk looked just a bit different this morning. On it was quite a surprise!!!

Roses! Not usual for a Wednesday morning. The roses were totally unexpected but aren't they lovely. I especially like that it is a mix of pink and red - so pretty. The hearts, as you can probably guess, were left out after making a Valentine's card as was the box of Spectrum Aquas. There's also a ton of stamps - most featuring hearts too - an ink pad and the scraps of card used as testers. Mr Romantic now has the card so I can share it here too.

I've steered away from traditional colours this year, though there is a touch of red - hearts just have to be red!

Right, that's it for me this week. Short and sweet. I'm going to take Mr Romantic out to our favourite coffee haunt for a treat. Well, after those roses, I think he deserves it,

Happy WOYWW and have a wonderful Valentine's Day whatever you're doing.

Edit Note: Readers, he declined my invitation. He says it's blowing a gale out there and freezing cold so he's opted to 'stay home and snuggle' just as it says on his card!

To Travel Is To Live - A Scrapbook Layout

Hello Everyone,

The third layout using another of the homemade kits I put together last year. After sorting through our massive photo collection and filing them into albums that only had spaces for photos that are 6x4, or smaller, in size left me with a pile of and panoramic and oversized photos needing a home. The photo on the layout is one of them ... it's of my husband, taken in Southern Ireland in 1999. It shows the mist rising up from the hills on a perfect Irish morning.

The base of this layout is a fabulous Webster's Pages paper showing fluffy white clouds on a beautiful blue sky. I've been stroking this paper for a very long time - two years at least - but it proved to be a difficult paper to use on a layout. Until, that is, I found this photo. The sky is not an exact match but I think it's near enough for me to get away with it. 

So here's a list of supplies used.

Base Paper - 'Journey Begins' from Webster's Pages Our Travels collection
Papers used for layering the photo and making embellishments - all from Simple Stories You Are Here collection (2016)
Stickers - Bo Bunny - the wavy multi-coloured strip below the photo; Simple Stories You Are Here 'Expressions' Stickers; Webster's Pages 'Sprinkled With Love'
Alphas - turquoise letters from Simple Stories Snap! Studio Brights; pale orange from previously mentioned 'Expressions' sticker sheet
Ink used to edge everything - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Weathered Wood 
Punches used to cut the three circles in each of the three embellishment clusters - Stampin' Up 1¼" & 1" circles
Enamel dots - Simple Stories So Fancy; Echo Park Petticoats & Pinstripes; Docrafts Papermania  Orange Neon Gems

The flower motif and the orange camera were fussy cut out from journaling cards in the Simple Stories collection and the small camera was cut from a Project Life card

The title is a quote from Hans Christian Anderson and the 'I haven't been everywhere ...', which was already printed on one of the Simple Stories papers, is from Susan Sontag.

I'm undecided what to do next. Should I make another layout or should I get my sewing machine out, or should I make a Valentine's card for a certain someone tomorrow ... oops! I think I've just answered my own question!

In A Vase On Monday - A Spring Windowsill

I thought with the snowstorms of yesterday that I wouldn't be able to put together a vase for Cathy's In A Vase On Monday. However, the snow melted away this afternoon giving me the chance to nip into the garden to see what could be found.

It wasn't much but I found enough to make this pretty little vase. One very brave Tete-a-Tete daffodil had opened out - it was 2C degrees and I would have expected it to be knocked back.

I also picked a few blooms from my husband's beloved primulas - white, blue and yellow.

The hellebores, Christmas Carol and snowdrops are still going strong despite the near freezing temperatures we've had recently.

The little Peter Rabbit jug was really too deep for most of the flowers, they are so short-stemmed, so I've propped them up with glass beads.

The primulas were a recent impulse buy - I loved the creamy white blooms - and the tray of William Morris decorated pots, together with the matching string tin, were a bargain sale buy last year.

Sunday Scraps

Hello Everyone,

Happy Sunday to you all.

I've not had a lot of time for crafting this week but I have managed to find time to make up these two layouts.

Supplies used: Patterned papers from the 'So Rad' collection from Simple Stories; Alpha stickers Expressions 'You Are Here'; Enamel dots Echo Park's Petticoats & Pinstripes and Docrafts Papermania Neon Gems; black cardstock and other embellishments from stash.

The oversized photos are official schools ones of my son at secondary school a long, long time ago ... he's now in his late 40s. The first layout, 'When You Were 13', is based on a sketch taken from a design by Birgit Koopsen, 2013.

As previously mentioned in Wednesday's WOYWW post these layouts were made from homemade scrapbook kits inspired by the method demonstrated on YouTube by Nicole Jones 911, So being pushed for time this week it was really helpful to be able to pull out a couple of the kits - it made the whole process so much quicker.

In Friday's post I was anticipating Spring. Seems I was a tad previous. It's been snowing off and on all day. Just when we had to drive across country to the hospital at Kilmarnock for yet another appointment - not for the EM for a change, this one was for me. That's the fourth hospital appointment this week. 

Our huge cotoneaster draped in snow. 

Friday Smile

Hello Smilers

I have a photo heavy post for Annie's Friday Smiles this week. I hope you will enjoy this little selection of  snaps taken at the Brick City Exhibition in Rozelle House, Rozelle Park, Ayr. They are scenes from round the world - all made from Lego.

South Africa, Green Point Lighthouse
& African Penguins on the beach

China & Hong Kong

New York, Macy's Day Parade

Edinburgh is my home town.

Edinburgh - a Georgian Tenement similar
 to the one I used to live in when I was young.

Edinburgh - the New Town
& the Forth Rail Bridge

Tossed three coins in this fountain but I've yet to go back!

Rome, Trevi Fountain

Two scenes from London, including the impressive St Pancras Railway Station.

Various London sites - Battersea Power Station -
complete with flying pig - telephone box,
Nelson's Column, and a very tiny replica of St Paul's Cathedral

London St Pancras International Rail Station - four photos because this model is so big!

Rozelle House is a lovely old mansion that that was gifted by the Hamilton family to the Royal Burgh of Ayr in 1968.

The House is now a major display venue with a varied programme of exhibitions, events and workshops. Sadly, little of its historic interior remains but there is still this beautifully ornate staircase. (The EM thinks it would be a fiddly paint job!)

And at the foot of those stairs the 'Draped Reclining Figure' by the sculptor Henry Moore, a three quarter size life size bronze.

And finally the funnies for today.

Anticipating Spring even though it's freezing out and we've had a sprinkling of snow this afternoon.


Have a great weekend and a very happy, smiley week to come.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 453

Another Wednesday and another WOYWW.

I've been putting together a couple of scrapbook pages. A while ago, during an uncharacteristic period of forward planning following the method used by Nicole Jones 911, I put together several 'scrapbook kits' from my stash. Nicole has several YouTube demos on how she makes her kits, all of which I found very helpful. When I felt like scrapbooking yesterday I just pulled out a couple of the kits and had one layout completed in no time at all and another begun.

Other stuff I've been up to this week.

Finally finished this hexagon throw. It took me ages to weave in the 'hundreds' of yarn ends. That's the sort of task has you vowing never again!

More yarn found it's way into my knitting bag. I've already started knitting with the green yarn, centre photo, to make up this retro jacket pattern.

The EM is doing okay. He had a pre-op examination yesterday but was disappointed to be told that he will need to get another heart scan before the operation goes ahead. He's impatient to get it over and done with so another delay was a bit of a blow. He's at the hospital again tomorrow to have a heart monitor fitted for 24 hours. I can't say, though, that he's letting his dicky heart slow him down all that much - he's not the kind to sit around watching TV all day!

Here he is getting to know Ebony, our daughter's Rottweiler puppy. She's cute and he's not half bad either.

Just visible in my desk photo this week is the 'library' of audio books on my computer. I have set it up to be able to listen here in the craftroom or on my mobile phone when elsewhere - perfect for hanging about hospital waiting rooms. This week's audio books have been a real mixed lot.

This is a lovely book to listen to. The writer records a year in the life of a Hertfordshire meadow. He describes the animals and wild flowers that live and grow in the meadow.

Subtitled a Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery. Brilliant if you are interested in genealogy and history. I now know a lot more about the Irish Civil War and, in particular, the 1916 Revolt in Dublin. A great listen, especially if you like your family history combined with mystery..

I'm such a fan of Scandinavian crime novels and, in particular,  those written by the Swedish Stieg Larsson. Too sad that he died before he could write more than three books about 'the girl' Lisbeth Salander.  I'm only part way through this one but so far it has not disappointed.

That's all from me today. I'm off to make a cuppa and a bit of lunch before settling down to check out what's on everyone's desks this week.

Have a lovely WOYWW and a wonderful week ahead.