It's been a busy few days ...

... and it's only the first of December!

Hi Everyone,

I've just had a whirlwind of a few days and I thought I might do a wee review - as much for my benefit as for your entertainment :)

It all started with my 65th birthday ... yes, 65 ... I can't believe I'm that old either but it's true! The day began with a very early morning text wishing me a happy birthday, the first of many throughout the day, then I switched on the computer, clicked online and this is what greeted me ...

My own personal birthday greeting from Google!!! I'm assuming they do this for everyone but I didn't know this so was completely overwhelmed ... that is, once I confirmed that it really was for me and not some other more famous Elizabeth  :))

And then there's these ...

Handmade cards from crafty friends, BJ, Julia, Jenny & Cassidy, at the front - just fabulous. Apologies to Cassidy - the EM has placed your card the wrong way up and I didn't notice until now!?!? The 1947 card is from the oldest of my younger brothers ... it came with a CD of events that happened the year I was born ... it was a heck of a year beginning with a really freezing winter which was then followed by terrible floods in spring, and then, in summer, a heatwave. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, there was rationing, strikes, power shortages, no NHS and the threat of nuclear war ... what a world to be born into! Fortunately, being born almost at the end of the year, I missed the worst of it but pity my poor mother.

On Friday, we drove up to my granddaughter's so that I could cuddle my baby great-grandson, Brodie John Cameron Higgins.

He has a bit of jaundice - hopefully, that will clear in a week or so. As there is a strong history of deafness in the family, granddad, grandmother, paternal uncle, etc., he has had his first hearing test already and it seems he may be deaf in one ear. As it could just be an aberration he will have another test next week just to be certain one way or another. Otherwise he is doing well and is an absolute sweetheart.

And here's me proving that I still know how to give a baby a bottle ... there are some things you just never forget :)

One of my birthday presents was some very welcome vouchers for my favourite craft centre and, as they were burning a hole in my pocket, we took a trip up today. I had a lovely splurge on some nesting dies, patterned paper, stickles, liquid pearls and a quickie glue pen ... I restrained myself :))

The papers have been chosen mainly for the more subtle B sides - much more useful than big and bright patterns. Not shown in the photo is a couple of rolls of washi tape - I forgot to put them out.

Almost done, but on the way back the EM stopped off for me take a few photos of the beautiful views near Inverkip ... I thought you might like to see them.

Inverkip is a picturesque little town on the Clyde Estuary famous for its yachting marina ... here you can see just a tiny smidgen of the vessels there through the trees. It was a cold and frosty day but there was a low sun and the sky really was this incredible blue.

Same area, just looking the other way, down the estuary towards the Isle of Arran - absolutely gorgeous.

And for anyone who may have doubts, here's my last photo ...

... yes, Santa is coming to Scotland :))

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend too.

Take care and happy crafting,

Laugh, Laugh Often ... SOS Pagerize #24 This Challenge Layout

Hello Everyone,

Each month Scrap Our Stash has a Pagerize This Challenge. Pagerize is simply a scraplifting challenge and a lot of fun!  This month we have been challenged to pagerize this lovely page made by fellow DT member, Karen.

And as soon as I saw Karen's scrap page, I just had to pagerize it. I've chosen to scrap a photo taken of my son 42 years ago when he was only 9 months old and the apple of his mother's eye :) We were on leave from Germany, visiting his grandmother in Ayrshire, Scotland. In fact, almost the whole family gathered to meet him, aunts, uncles and even his great-grandmother came through from Edinburgh to see her first great-grandchild. 

This was the first professional photo I had taken of him and I can still recall it vividly to mind. He laughed and chuckled happily for the photographer throughout the session - hence the title - he was an incredibly happy baby :) Although it's a black and white shot, I remember that he was dressed in palest green so I chose to have that as the main colour with touches of blue, yellow and pink in the embellishments. I've moved the photo cluster up to the right of the page and swopped embellishment clusters round a bit, but otherwise it is more or less the same layout as Karen's.

Materials:  Papermania, Happy Days; Imaginisce For Peep's Sake, Spring Fling; Fancy Pants It's, The Little Things; blue BoBunny cardstock; Hot Of The Press, Serendipity; Nitwit Collection, Bumbleberry Cottage; Champion Art Stamps, Laugh Often; WH Smith, blue label; all the other embellishments from stash.

If you would like to have a go at pagerizing/scraplifting Karen's layout, you have until the 12th of December to submit to Scrap Our Stash - full details can be found on the blog.

Thanks for looking. 

Happy Crafting,

WOYWW 182

Morning WOYWWers, Followers, and Fellow Bloggers,

Well, it's Wednesday, and after the week I've had already I am not a bit prepared to reveal what's on my workdesk today. But, in the interests of desk snoopers of this world, here it is.

Absolutely shameful! But I do have the best defence ... if you scroll down to my previous post, or click this link here, Reason to Celebrate, all will become clear :))

Anyone wondering why I am showing what amounts to my dirty linen should pop over to Julia's place, the Stamping Ground where you will find around a hundred or more others revealing the state of their desks to the world.

So what's on the desk ... the detritus left from making another scrap page. Usually, I clear up after completing a project but, so far, I just haven't had time this week - it's all had to be left in situ while attending to more pressing matters. Here's a closer look at the page.

This is the result of Prompt #7 of Shimelle's Remix class and features two photos taken on my youngest granddaughter's second birthday - that's seven years ago!!! Where does the time go?!?!

The base is Kraft and the papers are from Daisy Bucket, Papermania, Fancy Pants and My Mind's Eye. The embellishments are handmade from scraps, including the windmills. The title uses Jillibeans Alphabeans and American Crafts thickers.

Julia likes brief, so brief it is this morning ... if only because I've yet to have breakfast :) 

I'm not dashing off anywhere today so will be back after breakfast to take a peek at your desks too, check out if yours is anything as messy as mine, and see what you are all up to.

Finally, my thoughts go out to those of you who are involved in the terrible floods happening around the UK this week - I hope you have all escaped the worst, and if not, you are receiving all the help and assistance you need. 

That aside, I wish you all a very happy WOYWW,