Friday Smiles on Saturday

Hello Everyone

I know I should have posted this round up of things that made me smile, for Annie's Friday Smile meme, yesterday but it's been a very busy week and I have to admit the heat is getting to me too. So much so, it's required a lot of lying down with my feet up - oh boy, are they killing me!!! Not that I propose to share photos of my feet with you ... suffice to say they are not a pretty sight!

A week ago my daughter and I, with our respective husbands, travelled north to see the Quilt Show organised by the ladies of Mary's Patch at Glencarse, near Perth. Needless to say I took an awful lot of photos but here's just a wee selection.

For such a small community - Glencarse is not much more than one street in size - the number of quilts was impressive and all very beautiful.

Most of the display was in the village hall but the overspill was displayed in this lovely church - a church with hens in the yard!

It's as quaint inside too.










Sunday was this little one's third birthday.

He's such a cutie and I can't believe how much he is growing.

Also on Sunday we took a trip to Culzean. It was hot and the sea and the sky were this deep azure blue ... as good as anything found  in the Mediterranean.

It's a fabulous time of the year to visit the country park. There's so many baby animals to see - cygnets (five), ducklings (sixteen) and young Highland Cows (three).

We were lucky enough to reach the deer park at feeding time so got to see the llamas up close - love them!

On Tuesday we visited the newly refurbished art gallery in Kirkcudbright where I was delighted to see Landseer's 'Monarch of the Glen' - it's massive and a marvellous work of art.

Here's a few of the other works of art that caught my eye.

Wednesday we had another birthday to celebrate.

My gorgeous granddaughter, Shari, turned fifteen and is now quite the young lady.

Callum, still celebrating his birthday ... it seems I'm not the only one who enjoys week long birthday celebrations ... loving having his great-gran read a Peppa Pig story to him.







And finally ...

... my wonderful great-grands all together at the Five Sisters Zoo - left to right, Brodie, Rhian, Callum and Lacie. There's nothing quite like a birthday celebration to get all the family together.

Goodness, if you've made it this far thank you, and apologies for the length of this post but it really has been a busy week and you should see the photos I've not included - there's a ton more!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Scrapbook Layout - Meeting Robbie Burns Mouse

Evening Everyone,

Here's the layout from yesterday's deak - the one that has only  taken me a week to complete!

The photo is of my daughter acquainting herself with the giant mouse that is a feature of the Poet's Walk. The walk runs from the Robert Burns Heritage Centre to Burns Cottage & Museum in Alloway, Ayr. The mouse is a character from one of his most famous poems, 'To A Mouse'.

The design is based on a Kristine Davidson's, Creative Scrappers, sketch and most of the supplies are from Mind The Scrap with some items added from my stash.

• Papers used are Bo Bunny (Summer Mood Let's Go), Heidi Swapp (Hawthorne Nightfall) and Jen Hadfield Homemade (Patio Party Tablescape) on a black cardstock background. 

• The embellishments were created using Docrafts Nesting Circle die set and cardstock in pink, yellow, aqua and white, from my stash, with additions fussy cut or punched from  Heidi Swapp (Pineapple Crush Flamingle), Shimelle (Box of Crayons On A Roll), Bo Bunny (Early Bird Wild).

• Ephemera from Simple Stories' Good Vibes and Pink Paislee's Auburn Lane packs (kissing emoji and hearts)

• Stamps used from Kesi'art Memories (Right Here, Right Now) and Dovecraft's Smiley Emoji sets with Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad. 

• Title created with thickers from American Crafts, Happy Life and Charming. 

Hopefully I will complete the next page quicker than this one has taken me. It's not that the layout was particularly difficult or intricate - in fact it was easy - it's just that with the weather being so wonderful I've been out and about 'making hay while the sun shines' because it doesn't normally shine so bright! Normal service will resume i'm sure just as soon as it cools down.

Many thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend, whatever the weather. 

What's On Your Workdesk - Week 473

Hello Everyone,

Yes, it's WOYWW but there's very little to show that's different from last week today.

It's the same layout I was working on last week. There's has been some progress, but not much! The weather has taken another turn for the better so we've been out and about making the most of the sunshine.

I did find time for a bit of shopping for filing trays - somewhere to keep the bits and bobs that have started to mess up the craft room ... nipping the clutter in the bud before it gets out of hand again!

After mentioning to the EM that I was looking for new storage for my growing collection of inks and paints he kept his eye open and eventually found this set of shelves at the Sunday market - perfect!

And I couldn't resist these - not essential but pretty nonetheless.

It's going to be a busy afternoon - two birthdays to celebrate - so it could be a few hours before I'm able to visit your desks but I'll be catching up later.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very happy WOYWW and a great week ahead.

In A Vase On Monday - Taking Time to Smell the Roses

Morning Everyone,

Monday again, and time to join in with this vase of roses over at In A Vase over at Cathy's Rambling In The Garden

Apologies for the photo - I've caught the vase at a very jaunty angle!

Suddenly the roses have all burst into bloom at the same time ... it's heavenly. A wander around the garden resulted in this bunch of mixed roses, with astrantia 'Buckland' and a very beautiful dark red unknown variety - a transplant from a friend's garden which is establishing itself very nicely. Also included is good old Lady's Mantle, alchemilla mollis, and a couple of sprays from the black elder, sambucus 'Black Beauty'.

This is my favourite white rose, 'Tranquility'.

The climber, 'Susie' - only put in last year but doing so well.

'Carefree Days' - a patio rose that has other ideas! We transferred her from a pot to the border and she is now flourishing and outgrowing all expectations!







Some of the roses have no name, for example this stunning and heavily scented deep pink climber - pictured here with white clematis grandiflora.

Other roses included are the pale pink 'Happy Retirement' and a bud from the very striking 'Hot Chocolate' - brown in bud opening to a vivid orange.

And now for a cautionary tale. As you can see, I placed the vase on the dining room dresser overnight and then wished I hadn't. This morning the room was filled with the most pungent odour! On investigation I found it was coming from those pretty little black elder flowers. It completely masked the perfume from the roses. I have, of course, now removed the offending sprays!

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you will pop over to Cathy's blog, Rambling In The Garden, where you will find links to many more beautiful arrangements to admire.

Scrappy Sunday - Crazy Hair Day

Hello Everyone

It's Sunday so time for something scrappy for Pixie's Snippet's Playground, and for the second week it's not a card but a scrap layout. I still haven't got back into cardmaking but I am enjoying putting together scrap layouts so, for now, I'll just go with the flow.

This photo has to be one of my all-time favourites of my little great-grandson, Brodie, as he looked on his school's Crazy Hair Day last year.

The inspiration for the layout is from the second part of Shimelle Laine's class, Clear the Desk, which I am still working my way through. This part begins with the mixing of two collections. I never buy full collections so I've had to mix what I have of Echo Park's 'Meow' and 'Magical Adventure'. The combination works well because, as they are both by the same maker, the colours are similar too.

The blue/white spotted paper used for the star (top right) and film strip backing plus the yellow/white starry half circle (bottom left) are all scraps. There's also a scrap of red tartan paper which I used as a nod to his grandad calling him a Green Oor Wullie ... for those who don't know, Oor Wullie is a the 'hero' of very popular Scottish comic strip ... a lovable rogue known for his shock of blond spiky hair!

As usual, if there are any of the supplies you'd like to know more about, please do not hesitate to ask.

Have a great scrappy week and thanks for visiting.

What's On Your Workdesk - Week 472

Morning Everyone,

Back again after, for a special reason, missing last week's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday over at the Stamping Ground.

Yes, it's our very own Annie who, with her lovely hubby, travelled all the way up to Scotland to stay in a nearby village cottage. So near that we were able to spend several lovely days together showing them the delights of Ayrshire, including where we are in this photo, Culzean Castle. Not to mention the particularly yummy delights of Nardini's in Largs - ice cream!!! The week sped by to quickly but without our blogs and Julia's WOYWW we would never have become such good friends - and what a shame that would have been. Like Annie says, 'we shared much chatting, laughter, cakes and, oh yes, ice cream ... Ellie made me eat it honest!' She's not kidding, I really did ... nobody goes to Nardini's and not eat ice cream!!!

Of course, I would have been somewhat remiss had I not told Annie about the fabric shops in the area ... well, she is a sewist after all! One of the best is Mandors in Glasgow. Annie lost no time in visiting this magical shop bringing back a gorgeous selection of fabric which she insisted on splitting with me ... someone who shares her stash is my definition of a real friend! Annie, I'm still stroking these on a regular basis!

And, at last, the reason your here ... my desk today. Another layout in progress. Since I reorganised (read cleaned and decluttered completely) my craftroom I've rediscovered my love of scrapping. The pile of coloured cardstock is there while I decide which one would make the best layer for that photo. At the back is a book of layout sketches - my page is based on the third one down on the left on the page it's open at. The alphas will be used when I eventually decide on a title. Why, oh why, is it so hard to think of titles??? Up in the left corner of the photo is a post card which reminds me that my daughter and I will be off to  a quilt show at Mary's Patch, Glencarse, at the weekend. I discovered Mary's Patch by chance on the road to Aberdeenshire, where we were visiting my son a couple of months ago, when we stopped for a bite to eat ... a serendipitous stopover if ever there was one!

I haven't stopped listening to Audiobooks and I do intend to update you on all books listened to over the last couple of months but I think this post is long enough for Julia as it is. I'll just leave you with the one I'm listening to as I type, 'Unstuffed: Decluttering Your Home, Mind & Soul' by Ruth Soukup.

While I was in a decluttering mood I thought this would book would be just the thing needed to encourage me to keep going! And up to a point it has though I don't necessarily agree with everything Ms Soukup has to say on the matter. She has a very interesting viewpoint on the hobby of scrapbooking ... in a nutshell, she appears to think it's a waste of time!



Right, that's my lot for this week. I have a day at home today so I should be able to visit a goodly number of desks - well, that's the plan!

Take care everyone and have a wonderful WOYWW.

In A Vase On Monday - A Wild Bunch

Afternoon Everyone,

It's a wee while since I joined in with Cathy's In A Vase On Monday but I'm back blogging again so here's my vase for today.

All flowers from the wildflower patch - white oxeye daisies, blue centaura dealbata, orange hawkweed, purple thistles inappropriately called Cirsium 'Trevor's Blue Wonder' and white ground elder flowers.

I could have chosen any number of roses today but my wildflower patch has taken such a bashing from the storm recently that I preferred to rescue some of them before they are completely ruined. 

Here's a close up of the Cirsium - it's definitely purple and not blue as the name would suggest. I've decided that as I can't win with the ground elder then I will make the best of it and add it to the vase today. 

Happy to be back and flower gathering again.

Monday Make - Sparkly Crochet Lap Throw

Morning Everyone,

Thought I should share this little throw today.

It's one of a very long list of UFOs and it's only taken me 6 years - yes, 6 years - to complete! It's not that it was anything complicated, just nine Grannie squares and a border but it got abandoned half way through the making and ended at the back of a cupboard. That is, until recently when I decided I just had to do something about it. The red and black yarns have a metallic thread running through them which was one of the reasons I abandoned the throw all those years ago - the yarn would split when I wasn't paying attention. The other is that black yarn is - now that my eyesight isn't what it used to be - difficult to work with, particularly in the evening which is when I prefer to crochet. Anyway, it's done and the intended recipient is delighted, even if she is now 6 years old!

Have a lovely day.

Scrappy Sunday - Sweet Little Hut

Evening Everyone,

It's been a while since I posted anything creative but my mojo is back and so am I!

I decided to celebrate my new garden hut with this layout. Most of the supplies are from Mind The Scrap (MTS) - after much deliberation I've taken out a subscription. So far the kits have been lovely and include just enough new goodies to keep me happy. I did pull out the huge pot of white gesso I've been hoarding and made a splashy mess, using the packaging method, with blue Spectrum Noir Aquatint Inks and my Windsor & Newton watercolour paint ... all good fun. The layers behind the photo include white tissue paper, papers from MTS and a variety of papers from the scrap basket. It's a Suse Fish Scraptherapy inspired layout based on a sketch from a book I've downloaded from Creative Scrappers.

I'd like to submit this layout to Pixie's Snippets Playground. Haven't participate for a long time but it's nice to be back.

Hoping to once again post more regularly now that I've found my feet, so to speak. Thanks for popping in and if you would like any further information on the supplies used, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Take care and have a great week ahead.

What's On Your Workdesk - Week 470

Hello Everyone,

Some of you may have noticed that I've not been around for quite a long time. Three months ago my beloved brother became very ill with terminal cancer. Sadly, he died on 2 May. And I have not been able to do anything creative, let alone blog, since. I simply filled the void by sorting, reorganising and cleaning my craft room - not to mention the rest of the house and garden. Today, though, I'm feeling the need to be creative again - but I think I have forgotten how so it will be baby steps until I get into the swing of things! In the meantime, here's a photo of my very tidy desk.

Besides the ubiquitous cuppa there's my planner and a box of scrappy goodness all ready for me to get started. I'm using the planner for scrap therapy - in the manner of Suse Fish. So much more doable than filling out each and every little square on each day and it is indeed therapeutic. The contents of the box are supplies for continuing with Shimelle's class, Clear The Desk ... abandoned after the first part so now I'm going to attempt the second part ... I'm hoping it's just the thing to get me going again. That booklet lying on top of the box is a copy of sketches from Creative Scrappers. I downloaded and printed it out at the weekend - again with the hope that it's just the encouragement I need. We shall see!

That's me for this week. Short and sweet - just the way Julia likes it.

Take care everyone.