WOYWW - Week 707

I know I've been missing in action for a few weeks but I just had to join in with Julia's What's In Your Workdesk Wednesday and wish you all a 

Very Merry Christmas! 

There's not much to show on my desk today. Just the glittery gold Christmas album and the last page made waiting to be filed in it. It's looking a bit too bulky now, weighs a tonne too, so time to order a new album. 

Here's a close up of the page. The design is a good way of using up lots of leftover strips of paper. 

I've not been able to do much scrapping, or much of anything really, because of arthritis in my hands. All the packing and unpacking with moving house has caused a flare-up so I've been advised to take it a bit easier for a while. Not too difficult as it is Christmas so I'm giving myself a break. 

I hope to get back to normal again in the New Year.

ln the meantime, I wish all of you wherever you are, whatever you are doing, a wonderful holiday weekend. 

Elizabeth

WOYWW Week 703

Hello Everyone,

And happy Wednesday to you all too. I'm dropping in for the weekly workdesk event, hosted by the fabulous Julia over at the Stamping Ground, What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday? 

There's not much going on here. Silver thinks the desk makes a perfect perch. Besides, what could be more important than her comfort and company.  She's right, of course. 

We're still struggling without the internet. Waiting for Openreach seems to be neverending. 

There's been some progress with the unboxing. Both desks are now in place in the workroom and the bookcases are filling up. 

My wooden stamps, at least some of them, are back where they belong. 

I'm finding some time, mainly in the evenings, to work my way through the page kits put together before the move - when Silver allows! Otherwise, there's not much doing. 

Hope you're all finding plenty time to craft and that there's lots on your workdesk today. 

Take care and have a great week ahead. 

Elizabeth 

Sunday Chat

Hello Everyone,

Happy Sunday to you all. I thought I'd start a regular post for Sundays to chat about what I've been up to recently. This week it just happens to be about scrapping from a sketch. 

I like using a sketch. They make a great starting point.  In particular, I'm a great fan of Lisa Sikorski's sketches - they can be found on her Scrap A Sketch Facebook group  This one is sketch is No.2. I've used it not just once, but twice. 

Our Sweet Kind Boy

Fresh Air

Seen together like this it's obvious I used the sketch both times. But different backgrounds, colours, patterned papers, embellishments and, of course, photos and each page looks completely different. 

I created the tags by cutting a variety of papers to size, rounding of the corners with a corner punch, and punching a star centre top ... the hole punch is still packed away goodness knows where! It's a trick that I often use when there's no suitable labels in my stash. 

Eventually each page will be filed in different albums so the similarity of the layouts probably won't be noticed. Not that it matters to me if they were - I'm just pleased to be able to use a sketch more than once. 

If you are a scrapper do you use sketches and, if so, do you use the same one more than once ... your favourites, perhaps? 

I have an evening of scrapping on my temporary workdesk lined up, after dinner, of course. And I'll be catching up with Strictly Come Dancing in Blackpool too ... hoping my favourites get through to dance another week. Can you tell I'm addicted? 

I wish you all a lovely week ahead and 'keep scrapping'! 

Elizabeth 

WOYWW Week 702

Afternoon Everyone,

After a morning taken up with yet more unboxing and sorting through stuff, I thought I'd unwind by joining in with Julia, at the Stamping Ground,  and show what's on my desk today. 

Well, there it is. My desk. Covered in stuff. So not ready for scrapping yet but closer than the last time I was here. 

The sewing table is a lot less cluttered but no sewing machine to top it so nothing doing there either.

But fear not, fellow crafter's, the temporary workdesk is still serving me well. Here it is between projects. 

And these are the projects. Before the move, I had the foresight to put together page kits from stash. Over 140 of them. Each one is made up of cardstock, patterned paper, alpha's, embellishments and one or more photos, whatever seemed appropriate - all put away in a polythene baggy and stored in a numbered 'pizza' box saved especially for the job. 

I expected to get just one layout from each page kit but that has rarely been so. For example, from page kit #22 I got the following three.

The photos on all three are from different periods, years apart, and will be filed in different albums. I'm delighted. A little paper goes a long way! 

Update on the internet status: we're still not online though we were promised it would be up and running by 17th November!!! So communication is still patchy and I have discovered that I am unable to listen to an audiobook on my phone if the microwave is on. It's life, just not as we've known it. 

That's me for this week. I've given myself an hour or so to check as many of your posts as possible before making dinner. 

Take care everyone and have a wonderful week. 

Elizabeth 

Friday Smiles

Afternoon Everyone,

I'm a tad late in joining in with Annie's  Smile meme but that's because I've been emptying boxes this morning. I'm happy to report I've finally cleared all those that were on my desk! 

And given that I'm keeping on battling my way through the unpacking, opportunities for smiley moments are still few and far between. However, there's been a few moments.

Firstly, my daughter made a hair appointment for the two of us at her usual hairdresser, Kathleen's Hair Salon. 

Not a pretty sight! My daughter couldn't resist taking a couple of pics.

Better! I'm loving my new bob. 

And just this morning.

Silver helping me to unpack my Mind The Scrap kit! Like most cats, she finds boxes irresistible. 

Finally, if you didn't see yesterday's post here's another shot of me in my favourite hat. 

Guaranteed to make me smile. Unpacking isn't so bad when forgotten treasures, like this hat, are rediscovered. It's much too windy today, in fact it's been blowing a hooley here for days, to venture out with a hat like this one! 

We still have no internet and no sign of Openreach fixing the 'fault on the line', so posting anything at all is a bit hit and miss until it's all sorted. 

I hope you've all had a lovely week with much to smile about. 

Take care,

Elizabeth

Lest We Forget

 

NOT FORGOTTEN

Elizabeth 

Blogging for Scrapbookers

Hello Everyone,

It's amazing what I've found during the settling in process. Whilst ferreting through one of the many boxes, I came across a document entitled A Year Of Blogging, downloaded whilst taking Shimelle's Blogging For Scrapbookers  class a few years ago. 

It's a list of suggested topics to blog about set out in order of months.  Out of curiosity I had a look at what was suggested today's date and it's 'What's under your bed right now?'  I had no idea! With the second bedroom still chock-a-bloc with stuff, we've been struggling to find storage space so nothing would have surprised me. 

Phew! Not so bad. Two plastic boxes full of my winter Woolies - I'll be swapping summer clothes for them very soon - and two hat boxes. The one in the photo is my wedding day hat as seen in more than a few scrap layouts. 

I used to be quite the hat wearer in my younger days. 

This brown one was in one of the boxes together with my altogether favourite one. 

It's red with a black velvet band. It's never featured in a scrap page so here's it modelled by yours truly. 

That was more fun than I expected. I may dip into the list again - occasionally. It will be particularly useful on days when I can't think what to write about. Even if I'm the only person to read this post it makes a fun record of a day in the life of this crafter. 

Hope you've all had a lovely Thursday. 

Take care,

Elizabeth 

Saturday Chat - September's Highlight

Afternoon Everyone,

In all the excitement anxiety of the house move I failed to record the most exciting event of the year. 

Our long anticipated great-grandson, Freddie, was born. As you can see, his parents, William & Heather were almost as delighted as his big brother Callum.

And the same can be said for his three cousins, Rhian, Brodie & Lacie. They were round just as soon as they could to meet him. Luckily, they live not too fat away so I'm sure he'll be seeing much more of them in future. 

And this was Freddie at just one week. Such a sweetheart and a much loved addition to the family. 

We're in November now so September seems so far away, and much warmer too. 

We have a weather warning for high winds today so my plan to walk down to the promenade (photos taken a few days ago) has been cancelled. I hope it's better wherever you are and that you are having a lovely weekend. 

Take care.

Elizabeth

WOYWW 700

Wow! 700! What can I say that's not been said before about our Head Desker's brilliant brainchild, What's On Your Worked Wednesday! Congratulations to you Julia! It was a brilliant idea to bring so many dedicated Desker's together on Wednesdays to show our desks (or kitchen worktops, camping tables, floors, whatever!) and chat about what we're up to, be it craft related or not. 

As can be seen in my pic, I've dug out my teensy weensy die cutting machine from my craft tote. I had the good sense to pack it, along with other vital crafty necessities, before moving house. Scrapping is my relaxation so let's not think about the mountain of boxes still waiting to be unpacked ... I'm working my way through them very slowly. 

And this is the page that necessitated the die cutting of squares (The Works M&C stitched square) and the cute little mermaid (Cut & Make Mini die). Not that I've ever spotted a mermaid at Portpatrick but it's by the sea so it's just possible ... yes, no? 

Thought I'd leave you all with another photo of my new hometown, Ardrossan. It really is quite pretty on a good day but not today ... it's been blowing a gale and raining enough to warrant the building of a second ark.  

We're still not set up with the internet though Openreach was supposed to be on our case on Monday ... they weren't, of course. So it's still a struggle with all things blogging but I just keep pulling on my big girls' knickers and muddle along as best I can. 

Take care and have a wonderful week. 

Elizabeth 

Celebrating Halloween

Hello everyone,

Hope you're having a great Halloween, however you are spending it. 

That's my middle grandson, Joshua, looking his worst and ready to party. 

Halloween is not big around here but my grandchildren and great-grandchildren have always enjoyed getting dressed up and into character and I always enjoy seeing the photos that are posted. 

Even the youngest, Freddie, has made the cutest pumpkin and is totally unfazed by the evil ghosts. 

Even the great-grandogs got in on the celebrations! 

So, once again, have a great night everyone. 

Watch out for the ghosts and zombies!

Elizabeth

Saturday Update

Hello there,

Yesterday I ignored the gazillion boxes waiting to be unpacked and walked down to the seafront near my new home. 

There was a yellow warning forecasting this choppy sea but I really enjoyed the wildness. It blew the cobwebs away. 

Today I posted the first layout made on the little temporary scrapping table. 

It's a record of the white cosmos I raised from seed a few years ago. My new garden doesn't require the same attention as the last - there's a lot of grass, an old privet hedge and the pots we brought with us - but I think I might fill a pot with white cosmos next year because they are perfect for cutting and arranging in a vase. 

And that's all for today. Short and sweet. 

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. 

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth 

WOYWW 699

 Hello Everyone,

Yeah! I'm scrapping again so time I got blogging again too. And where better to start than with this week's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday ... a bit late but hopefully better than not at all. 

The desk is a temporary fold up affair, bought cheaply from Amazon, but better than nothing. I've been so missing playing with pretty papers but the last, goodness knows how many, weeks have been utterly chaotic. Making the decision to not only move house but to downsize too was a traumatic one but we did it! We're in our new home, a two bed ground floor flat in the seaside town of Ardrossan. Just! 

There's still what seems a neverending number of boxes to unpack. It's a case of so much stuff and so little space. Before moving we gave away a ton of stuff, loads of crafting stash going to a good cause, but, no surprise, we're still having to decide what to keep and what to lose. 

So, no surprise, I won't be in my new craftroom any time soon but I'm determined to factor in more scrapping and blogging time again and to get back to some kind of normal. 

We are still to be connected to the Sky internet - we have a fault in the line - thanks Openreach for choosing now to go on strike - so I'm relying on BT at the moment. Despite that, I hope to read all your posts and leave messages where and when I am able. 

In the meantime take care everyone and have a fabulous week. 

Elizabeth 

Scrapbook Layouts 2022 - No's.28-30

Hello again,

As usual, I hope this finds you well and, if not enjoying, at least tolerating another Monday after a wonderful weekend. 

I can make no claims to a wonderful weekend, having spent most of it in bed unwell. Oh, the joys of getting older!  

Consequently, no time's been spent in my poor neglected craftroom. All I have to offer is three more pages completed earlier this year. 

No's.28 & 29 - February Week 6

This is a double page spread covering the sixth week of the year. All the way back to February. Seems like a lifetime ago. I remember it was a busy week which included the news that another great-grandchild was on its way and here we are in July and mum Heather is now in the last month of pregnancy. How the weeks fly!

No.30 - Fun With The Girls

This was a lovely page to work on with photos from the first WOYWW Crop I attended in 2017, Llandudno. I can still remember my friend Annie's surprised look on seeing me in the flesh for the first time. I was very much smaller than she had visualised!!! Also in the photos are Jan (LLJ) and Julia (the lady responsible for all this WOYWW fun). The layout is loosely based on M K Gunn's pages dated 5 February 2022. 

Thanks for looking.

As always, take care and bye for now,

Elizabeth 

Scrapbook Layouts 2022 - No's.25-27

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are well and having a lovely day wherever you are. I have three more pages to share.

No.25 - Spring Blossom

Nothing lifts my spirits more than to see our cherry trees in blossom. This year has been a better than average year and, lucky for us, there was no storms and high winds to blow it all away. I foresee a bountiful harvest. 

No.26 - Tulip Time

Another welcome sign of Spring, the tulips. I particularly like this one with its striking colour because it's usually the first to make an appearance. I'd love to name the variety but I can't find my book of labels. 

No.27 - Egg Hunt

My husband's great-great niece and nephew, Freya & Josh, enjoy the egg hunt in their garden every Easter. 

All three layouts were based on Lisa Sikorsk's first three sketches in her month long 4 Seasons challenge on her Facebook group, Scrap A Sketch.  The beautiful patterned papers used for No's. 1&2 were from Mind The Scraps March kit and the cutfile on No.3 is from a Shimelle collection, as is the frog and dragon sticker. Flair from another Facebook group, Dotty About Flair, all other embellishments from stash.

Sticking down all the sequins around the cutfile was a labour of love!

Thanks for looking.

As always, take care and bye for now,

Elizabeth 

Rosa 'Douglas'

Hello Everyone,

The roses are doing spectacularly well now. Today's red rose is the Douglas.

I'm forever grateful to my two lovely friends, Jan and Julia, for the gift of this beautiful rose to mark the sad loss of my brother Douglas four years ago. He's never far from my thoughts but when I look at these blooms I smile at our memories.  

Thanks for looking.

As always, take care and bye for now,

Elizabeth 

Scrapbook Layouts 2022 - No's. 22-24

Hello Everyone,

I'm back again with another three layouts to share. I hope you are all well and enjoying some crafty time too. 

Here's today's pages.

No.22 - Sunbeam on Book

There was nothing quite so welcome as this first sunbeam lighting up the page of my book, promising winter's end was on its way. The photo frames were die cut using a new set of dies and from scraps of patterned papers.

No.23 - Simply Stunning

The photo is of my youngest granddaughter. Hard to believe she will be nineteen in a few days. For this layout we were challenged for a Scrap Backwards cyber crop challenge to make a layout with no photo in mind. This took me right out of my comfort zone - I find it much easier to have a photo as a starting point. 

No.24 - This Photo

This photo of my husband was taken the day after he came home from hospital following his hip replacement. He was cheerfully learning to get around on crutches as he recovered. Little did we know he'd shortly be back in hospital, with Covid19, and fighting for his life. 

The title is a Peartree cut-file, the layouts are based on sketches from Scrap-a-Sketch, flairs from Dotty About Flair, and I have ScrappyMo to thank for the die cut pennants included in a happy mail received a very long time ago. 

Thanks for visiting. 

As always, take care and bye for now.

Bye for now,

Elizabeth