Kit withdrawal...

I was getting kit withdrawal, having not had one for over a year, the other day and also feeling very low with a chest infection.  These two things combined made me reach for the credit card when I was blog hopping to cheer myself up!  I ended up subscribing to a new kit Gossamer Blue for 6 months and whilst I was away my first one arrived.

It is a new challenge for me as the kit is various manufacturers' papers which I don't normally feel comfortable with but they have been selected so well they all go together beautifully.  This is August's kit which was full of muted greens, turquoise, yellow and pink - a bit of everything really :)

You have papers...

And the reverse...

Plus some lovely embellishmnets and Lily Bee Letters (which I love!)...

 And then I made this for the weekly challenge on UKS last week...

All I added to the kit was some Jenni Bowlin star stickers, the title letters, some striped washy tape, some gems and pearls from my stash plus a bit of twill.

The challenge was to use ribbon, stitching, tearing and to scrap something from the last month - thanks Nikki for setting it, I really enjoyed doing a challenge again.  The ribbon I used as a very short piece as a sub title "a boy is a joy".  I realised as I got to the end of the layout I had not included tearing (unless you count the washi tape which I think not!)  so I am only claiming 25 point for the team.  Those following Glitter Girl may  notice I have based it on this layout here.

I have still to add journalling as I am still very emotional about Josh's last day of school and so I will think about what to write over the next week.  These photos were the last ones we took before we walked out of the school for the very last time and he is sporting his newly signed school shirt :)

Sneak peaks are all ready up on the blog of the September kit which is looking very blue and fresh but for now I need to make some more creations with the current kit.

2012 Scavenger Hunt - two more!

I have now downloaded my holiday photos so can tick a couple more of the list...

Not one but two outdoor stair cases!  Such a typically Greek home with all the pots of plants lining the route.  This was right at the end of the harbour with a beautiful view over the bay.

This was one of two small white churches on the island of Panagia in the bay at Parga and this one was dedicated to The Virgin Mary.  As you can see at night it was lit up beautifully.

So this is where I am up too... only 6 out of 21!  I best pull my finger out (or rather my camera out) if I am to get all these captured!  

Don't forget to visit Rinda's blog if you fancy playing a long.  You have to the 21st September to find all 21 :)

1. A pier
2. A clothesline
3. A border
4. A roadside stand selling something
5. A train
6. A historical landmark
7. A person playing a musical instrument
8. A person dressed as an angel or a statue of an angel

9. A fountain

10. A horse

11. A shadow

12. A maze, labyrinth, or trail.

13. A library

14. A person playing with a ball.

15. Someone dancing.

16. A bride.

17. A church, chapel, cathedral, mosque or temple.

18. A movie poster

19. An outdoor stairway

20. A swing hanging from a tree (or a hammock)
21.  A picture of you standing with something that symbolizes your nation.

How high?

Julie is running a great little series all about height this month and there's still time to join in - just pop over here to find out  more.

A few weeks ago we were talking about how high Alex had become and that she had nearly caught me up (only nearly, there is still a little way to go!).  So this started Josh's interest as to how close he was getting to the dizzy heights of 5' 4" (readers of Julie's blog will know that this means I am perfectly in the middle lol!)

Now let me explain something here for those readers who have not met my children.  Alex is tall, willowy and holds her own against the other 13 year olds she is friends with but at birth we feared she would not be so.  She was born nearly 5 weeks early at a mini size of 4lb 2oz and her percentile chart did not suggest anything other than below average height.  Josh, on the other hand, was a bouncing baby boy who went full term (and beyond) and was fine until he started school where he seemed to shrink while his friends kept on growing.  Two weeks today he starts high school and I know he will be one of the shortest in his year.

Anyway, back to the height measuring.  So Alex stood next to me and decided she was half way up my head (a little scary to think my first born is nearly my height but she was correct) and Josh?  Well, he stood in front of me, place his hand flat on his head and placed it on my body sideways (as you do when you're measuring your height), stepped back and duly declared he was... "booby height".

Priceless.  And a moment worth documenting.  We measured him the other day whilst away and, yes, he was still "booby height".  In some ways I don't want him to not be as every time he says it I fall about laughing but in others I so want him to grow and have a "spurt" so he can hold his own with the big boys.  Luckily he has a personality that more than makes up for his height.

I hope you enjoyed my little height story.  Don't forget to pop on over to Julie's blog to join in with "The Height of Summer"

Photography Scavenger hunt 2012

Well I am back from Greece and after two gorgeous weeks it's back to earth with a big bump!  I already have one day of work under my belt and am now on a rest day today and time to tackle the rest of the unpacking and the washing - oh happy days!!!

But first some more pics for the scavenger hunt...

This was the train in resort that took you on a 2 hour trip up to the castle and then round and about.  We never took it but I found it parked down a side street one morning!


This was a great find... The  local laundry with not one washing line but about 70!!!  Every time we walked past there were rows and rows of beautiful white sheets hanging out.




And lastly someone playing with a ball.  This was my friend's son Thomas last month playing beat the goalie at the Summer Fair. Now it just looks like a little boy kicking a ball but Thomas has had Cerbral Palsy since birth and the joy as he kicked the ball around and the smile on his face was priceless.  He loves football!  And yes, he beat the goalie - twice!!

So another three of my list - I need to find out what else I need to look for this week :)  I've even started planning days out around getting photos (please tell me someone else is doing that lol!) and think we may head to Llandudno soon for a photo of the pier!!

You can still play along still and all the details are on Rinda's blog.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

10 things on the 10th August

Wearing: A coral red, black and white bikini
Listening: to the crickets chirping and the kids splashing in the pool
Eating: a bacon toastie
Drinking: a small Greek beer
Reading: The Magic every day and trying to get into the habit of being grateful
Needing: to go and take some photos of things I have seen for the scavenger hunt but it's too hot!
Wishing: I had not been bitten so much by the Mosquitos 

Crafting: reading my Creating Keepsakes magazine
Enjoying: just chillin'
Loving: spending time as a family (and thrashing Tony at Scrabble!!)

Layout catch up...

I have had very little time for any scrapping lately (see my earlier post about how busy July was!) but I have kept up with the challenges over on the Sketchy Scrappers group on UKS.

Here are the last three pages I have done....

The first two used an old Sarah's Cards kit Pink Paislee Amber Road.

This church is in Dalton in Cumbria and over 5 generations of my ancestors are recorded as having been christened, married or buried there.

Pennington Flash is on our doorstep and is a great place to go to when we need fresh air, a play on the swings and an ice cream (or a bovril in the winter!)

This photo was one from my PWL course and Josh was being a very willing model.  Hanging off the slide while I took a photo from the top!  I can't believe how young he looks in this photo from 4 years ago...I used the scraps left over from a retreat class last year.

Off to Greece later today so there will be another gap in posts for a while.  Hope you are all enjoying your summers.

Julia

The height of summer!

I read with interest on Julie's blog about an off the wall idea that she had had for blog posts in August all about height!  How this came about I'll leave for you to read over at Julie's but as I was reading I realised I had several ideas and photo opportunities forming in my head already!  It would be a great way to document where the kids are now height wise but also in relation to how it affects them day to day as well as a funny story that came to mind and documenting the "giraffe" that we have measured height on for the past 11 years.

Julie is going to share a photo of herself with the massive structure that is the Angel of the North whilst I will leave you with a photo of Alex and Josh three years ago with a mini Angel...

Go over and read Julie's post and get inspired to play along too!

2012 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt

The lovely Fiona has started joining in with the above Scavenger Hunt over at Gallo Organico where you take 21 photos over the course of the summer from a specific list.  I thought this looked fun and although it started back in June (so I am a bit  late getting started)  I think we will have plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks to catch up and it is something Alex and I can both do together.

#7

First up is Number 7. A person playing a musical instrument.  I have already posted pics of Josh on the doorstep at the crack of dawn at 20:12 and in his last Summer Concert so here is a different photo of  the boy and his trumpet performing at his school Summer Fair.

And the brass section after their performance...

And this is Alex's entry...

We are looking forward to finding more from the list over the Summer holidays.

Hope some of you will join in too :)

Jam packed July!

Hello little blog...I'm sorry I neglected you...

This last month has been the busiest on record and somehow I just couldn't find the time to get on here and share it.  However it was all good (if a little emotional at times with Josh leaving primary school)

So in no particular order here is a taste of what we have been up too;

6 of the "girls" went out for lunch to help Tracy and I celebrate our birthdays...a combined age of 84 and that's all I'm saying!

Josh had a birthday trip to see The Amazing Spiderman with 4 friends followed by tea...

There was a Year 6 leavers' service at Newchurch Church...

Our good friend Chris and the gorgeous Thomas came to stay...

We went to the school Summer fair and Alex was chuffed to bits to win the 19th prize - a rugby ball signed by Warrington Wolves...

13 of us went to see Plan B at Delamere forest...

Alex went on Guide camp and had to run the whole show for her patrol of 4 guides earning herself her Patrol Camp Permit after a lot of hard work...

Josh had his Year 6 leavers party - we spent the afternoon giving the room a British feel in this very special year...

Josh turned 11...

He also had a sports day (they are all in yellow as that was their house colour) but sadly Southworth House only came 3rd...

Josh had his last summer concert at school where he sang in the choir and played trumpet in the orchestra...

Josh hopped in a limo with a 14 of his class mates to arrive in style at his leavers party! (He is 3rd from the right)...Can you see a theme developing for this month?  It was all about the boy!

We rang the bells at 8.12 to welcome the Olympics on the 27th... well I rang the door bell and Josh decided to blow his trumpet.  I'm sure the neighbours were very impressed!

Later that day he finished primary school for good.  Here he is resplendent in his signed school shirt...I could have counted the signatures but there was just too many!!

And just to balance out the month here is Alex at the leavers' party with my friend's daughter, Abby who adores her...

All this was on top of the usual activities, work and daily grind so it was a lot to fit in but it was fun packed, tearful at times and definitely a month to remember.

If you want to see more Month in Numbers posts then head on over to Julie's blog...