Me time....

This year I will be "celebrating" my 40th with a trip to New York without the kids. Each year Chris and I take a kid free break, but this year it will be for my birthday and to a place of my choosing. We went a couple of years ago and we have a rule of not going to the same place twice, but I loved it and there are still things I want to see. I also don't want to be dealing with turning 40 and have language problems. So, New York it is! Yay!!! I can taste the breakfast already....drool.

With this trip in mind, I've made myself a little travel journal to take with me based on the Julie Kirk's (Nabview) 3-in-1 mini book tutorial which you can find here.

I love the pocket idea so have used that for vertical and horizontal pockets to slip receipts and tickets in while we are away. I usually use a hotel envelope to bring things like that home, and then they stay in the envelope. This time they will have a home from the start.

There are also pages just for journaling, and some of the "pocket pages" have been turned into extra wide pages for me to witter away on. Other's I've turned the journaling block around to give the book more interest and make you want to handle it. At the moment I'm also considering taking my pogo printer with me as I think a few little photo's in it would be great.




I'm really looking forward to using it and may make another one just because I can!

This one has been make using kraft cardstock for the pages and pockets, bakers twine, basic grey recess papers (yep - I'm using old stash!!), journaling block stamp, inks, a little touch of paint, 7Gypsies tapes & a rub-on and some Tim Holtz bits and pieces. Oh yeah - and I dusted off my BIA to bind it, it's been a while.

As always, thanks for looking!

The early bird...

For once I am way ahead on my GoGo Circle Journal! The theme this time is "Words to live by". All those phrases that you find yourself saying or living by. My chosen saying is "If you can't choose who you are, what are you if not the sum of your choices".

I know that sneak peaks wind some people up, but I don't want to spoil it for the recipient or other circle.

Pages this month have been created using the lovely January kit from scrapagogo. I love the stamp produced for this kit and was lucky enough to get my hands on one as I don't sub to the stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Is that an Art Journal I see before me...?

Not yet, but that's the plan. The first of the three projects I'm inspired to do after attending the Fabby Dabby Weekend.

I was thinking about picking up a cheap book to have a go at making my own after seeing Dyan's, but as I was sat at my desk I clocked a couple of the paper bags that Scrapagogo kits come in, and the light bulb went off! Brightest it's been for a while if the truth be told.

Since then I have been sneaking off to glue, rip, punch holes, gesso, paint and stamp. So far I have three pages and a cover ready to be worked on. I have absolutely no idea yet as to what I'll put on these pages, but I am just so in love with making them at the moment, that that part really doesn't matter just yet. I have no deadline to finish the journal, it will be done when it's done, and probably reworked a lot. I will share some of the pages as I go along.

The photo's don't really do the finish on these pages much justice. I've only used Claudine Hellmuths studio paints and they have a fabulous depth of colour when you have a lot of layers. These have to be my favourite paints yet.

Right I have housework to do, half a dozen more pages at various stages in the process and a canvas to sort out. I may sometime, but I will be back!

I'm a little fairy....

The second weekend in January I was privileged enough to go to one of Dyan Reaveley's (AFTH) Fabby Dabby Weekends, and oh it was exactly that. The weekend starts on the Friday evening, but we still had far too much snow and all I heard was that the A59 between York & Harrogate was far from funny, so I gave them a call at the shop and let them know I wasn't going to make Friday, but hell or high water (or even snow) I would be there Saturday morning!

A few people have now asked me what we got up to, so here finally are some of the projects we worked on. They were a mix of media and techniques, from art journal to collage to beeswax with lots of ink and paints and stained fingers.

Don't get me wrong I loved the GoGoGetaway, but this really recharged my batteries and has sent me hurtling back to my arty side - where it all began so many moons ago. So, a very very big thank you to Dyan - woman you are an inspiration! Now I just need time to do all the things I want to do. Starting with creating an Art journal and making Rosie into a fairy (canvas is primed and ready to go).

What techniques do you use?

Another circle journal posting date is here and this month I have had Jackie's journal -"Techniques". I was looking forward to this one, but then I remembered I just stick and go, or do I? It's funny when you have to think about what you do or how you do your scrapping.

I am haphazard in the way I work (messy I think Chris would call it, if he was being polite..) In the end I've shared a couple of embellishment type techniques, fingers crossed she likes them!

Pogo Monsters

Fed up with the snow yet? I know I am now. It wasn't too bad when Jamie was on school holidays, but now he's back I am not enjoying walking it in with a pushchair, or to be more accurate, half pushing - half dragging a pushchair through it.

I did force the kids into a mini photo shoot on Wednesday though as the school was shut and they seemed up for it. I have printed the shots out on a polaroid pogo - I just love it. No, they are not colour accurate but they are proper polaroid pictures as we remember them. The kids were sat in front of my bed and that's a chocolate colour quilt cover behind them.... you'd never guess would you. I was determined to scrap them quickly and this is what I came up with.

As always, thanks for looking!

52 Walks 2010: week 1

It's the first day back to school after the Christmas holidays and it looks like only the Infants schools are open here. So with Jamie safely deposited at school and Rosie at nursery and with the snow still falling I finally took myself off for a walk to the post office, camera in hand.

My photo's for this first walk are of Burnby Hall Gardens, closed due to the slippery pathways, but with a clear view of the lake from the entrance I took these. The posts you can see are in the lake and mark the various varities in the huge water lily collection, as you can see the lake is frozen over and mainly covered by the snow.

2010...

Ahh, a new year, and look a photo taken today. I felt very guilty about all the birds in the snow and having empty feeders hanging around the garden, but as I only have table food and no bird table, the shed became a substitute and this blackbird has been on and off it all afternoon.

As a failed 2009 365'er *hangs head in shame*, I've decided to join Pam's new project. 52 Walks with my Camera. You can find the UKS thread here and the flickr group here if you fancy joining in. The walk could just be the school run or a pop to the local shop, or it could be a good old hike up a mountain which is why it appeals to me.