WOYWW - Scrappy Saturday !

After a morning of errands I got to spend a wet Saturday afternoon at my workdesk scrapping !
Much beloved headed out to watch the Swans win at footie and so I could play at my desk guilt free !

I had some of my holiday photos already printed out and so was able to put together pages about our days at Cape Point,  Franschhoek & Kirstenbosch Gardens. It's amazing how long ago the trip seems now but it is nice to be capturing the memories !

I have mentioned before that I always like the look of other crafters Project Life layouts - but never quite "get" doing it myself - however I am determined to persevere - and so here is my Project Life layout from our Easter weekend !

Sunday was a better day weather wise so the garden called & I tried to dig over the bed as it is capped with a hard layer of moss from the wet winter we have had - every time I moved I seemed to be crushing & compacting a squelching soil ! Anyone else having the same trouble ?

The afternoon was a bit more dreary and so I was finally able to the Finnabair style frame I started weeks ago !

Also after our trip to the Ally Pally Stamping Show earlier this month the challenge was to make something from what we bought there - here is my frame I painted & a decoupage dress form from the Fabulous Fashion range of House of Zandra !

Lynda look away now !!
I had "J" on Lynda & my Alphabet ATC challenge this month - so I chose Journey !

And here is a quick update photo of Project Vegtrug - things are growing away nicely so far - and I have all my beans plants potted on & tucked in the Vegtrug using it as a mini greenhouse as we have 3 or 4 more weeks before we can be sure we won't have a late frost !

Have a great week !
Ali

WOYWW - Sunny Easter Memories !

Hi !
We have had a lovely weekend of mostly sunny days for the Easter weekend.
My Sister, Brother In Law and 2 nephews came down to stay with us & we had a hectic fun weekend !

Good Friday was Much Beloved's birthday and we headed to Picton Castle - the grounds there are lovely and we had a brilliant picnic in glorious sunshine !

On Saturday we headed to Heatherton the activity park over in Pembrokeshire - the boys had great fun & we all joined in with the Pirate adventure golf !

Sunday it rained but the menfolk had decreed we were having an at home day as there was essential football to watch on the telly ! So we took the opportunity to introduce my sister to the joys of the Gelli-plate !

Sadly the family had to head back to England yesterday as my sister & the boys are back at school today.
The sun came back out & I was able to spend the day working in the garden.

I tried to squeeze in a little crafting and try out my new Sweet Poppy steel stencils - but I am definitely not doing it right as I am getting the stencil dimension medium seeping under the edges of the design & getting a splodgey effect !

Anyone got any tips of what I am doing wrong - too much paste ?

Pressing too hard, not hard enough ?
Wrong method of dragging the spatula over the stencil ?

So on my desk this week - a bit of a mess !
Photos from the Easter weekend, my steel stencils, the Clarity stencils we used for the Gelli Plate play date - some photos I am still looking to scrap from our holiday - and sadly neglected at the back my Documented Life Journal which I am failing miserably to keep up with !

I found this advert in a catalogue and loved the effect but my first attempt to mimic this on a little set of drawers has a rather lurid minty green colour - back to the drawer-ing board !!













And I wanted to try a colour scheme out of my comfort zone - red !
Here's a project about to start !

Here's just one more "happy picture" from the weekend - I love spring blossom !!

Have a great week !
Ali x

WOYWW - Hoppy Easter !

Well just a quick post tonight.
I am waiting eagerly for tomorrow as my Sister, B.I.L. & 2 nephews are coming for Easter and I am very excited as I only get to see them a couple of times a year !

I just don't know where the days go !
I have so many crafty things I want to to do & never a moment to get to my desk !
All I have managed this week is to throw some bunnies together ! Just a few quick cards for the family !

 I do have a bit of an excuse for not getting much crafting done at the weekend - apart from the fact that Sunday was a gorgeous clear blue day and so I spent most of the day working in the garden !

On Saturday, 6 of us friends from Scrapclub squished into my car & at 6.30 am our little charabanc set off for London and the Big Stamping & scrapbooking Show at Alexander Palace.
We had a good run up from our corner of West Wales & although its nearly 4 hours each way and a long old day, we all had a really fun trip !
It's our favourite of the shows as it focusses on all the paper crafting goodies that we love !

We saw some lovely inspiring samples of stamping & mixed media and many of the various stands were giving demos which were interesting to watch too !
I took some photos to inspire me when I get back to my desk !
Here's a few of them gathered together.

And of course the car was rather heavier on the way home as we had all been tempted by the goodies on sale !

So we now have a fun challenge that we should make something from what we bought and take it along to the next club meeting.

Hope to get to my desk long enough to show you next time !!

Have a lovely Easter !
Ali x

WOYWW - Scraps of Scrapping !

Well I was AWOL again last week - this time off at a conference for work in Cannes.
It may sound a bit glamorous but we flew in saw the airport, a taxi, a hotel for the duration and despite a half hour walk along the sea front one evening & again before breakfast - in the rain - we didn't really see much of France !

Really we could have been at a rainy UK resort like Brighton or Bournemouth !!
Anyway here is a picture to prove I  WAS there !












On Saturday we were out again - off to Cardiff for a tapas lunch at Las Iguanas and then the matinee of Wicked. I didn't really know what the story was or what to expect - but it was great fun - and even with an overdose of Emerald Green we enjoyed ourselves !

The weather here was dreadful all weekend & especially lashing down all day on Sunday - so after swimming it was finally time to squeeze in some scrapping !

So I started on our South African holiday - where could I possibly start other than those totally adorable, cute Penguins !

And my lovely crafty visit with Bella - the tag is a gift she gave me - and the fuchsia pink theme is in her honour - being the cool pink lady she is !!

Just a couple of snaps from the garden this week - my project this summer is my new Vegtrug.
I sowed seeds 10 days ago and I love seeing the miracle of a new plant springing from that speck of seed !


And I also love seeing Spring struggling to make itself known in the quagmire that is my rain soaked garden beds ! Here are some tulips I planted last year - valiantly blooming despite a bed where they would be better off with flippers than roots !!

Have a great crafty week ! Ali xx