Older pictures.........

Pictures I was sure that I must have scrapped, then looked and found that, shockingly, I hadn't!

You ever find this?

You look and think , blimey, these are a few of my daughters very first pictures and I missed them out!!

Its OK though, I knew I had them, but didn't realise I hadn't documented them as I had wished.

So last week I decided to rectify this.

Its a shame that there isn't more journalling about the feelings at the time, I can remember the moment, but I cant remember everything, just because some of the little things fly out of my head.

But what i wanted to detail I have.

Like, this is the time when normal visitors are not allowed to come onto the ward, this is the Daddy's only slot, 10am-12 noon, just daddy's and as the ward was a 4 bed ward with only me and another lady, it was lovely,

It felt like it was just Jack Bella and I!!

Daddy had gained a life time of confidence in baby holding since leaving the night before and was bursting to hold Bella and be there, be her Daddy, such a wonderful time.

The time before we shared her with the world, the time when she was just ours,

iIloved to share her, but i also loved this time.

I love that i can still see her red eyelids, a sign of her rapid entry into the world, and her now super tiny looking, then huge looking babygro. the bibby that looks like it would be too big forever, that i now would now only just fit.

I love everything about these pictures.

The newness.  The start.

A whole new journey to embark on.

As a family of 3

Wow!! 

( and now 2yrs 3 months on, how much have I learned, HEAPS!!! and there is still a gazillion more things to learn too!!, maybe that's for another post!)

i wonder how many more of these type of pictures i might have missed, I challenge myself to look back and make sure they are doumented.

How about you??

Happy Saturday everyone, I am now off to put my freshly printed pictures into my PL folder and get scrapping.

Bye xxxx

SOS

I nicked this from my good friend Leanne!

The theory is SOS means Show off Saturday .
If you know Lea then you know she has a beautiful little boy who is all kinds of cute ! Well he & my little Bella are almost the same age , and being the worrying mums we are we tend to share a LOT of concerns with each other but we also share the positives & boy does it feel good when we do! Today we have awesome positives to share!

So if you drop by Leanne & see what Little M has been up to you will know why I am super pleased for him! And over the moon for one of my favourite girls. (she is crazily lovely)

I thought I would share a showy moment too, just to round of a quiet day, it would be fun right?

So this is today



My little girl sat on her bumble bee cushion, grabbed its antennae and said ooooh giddy up Gaston! (gaston is a ladybird in a toddlers tv program, it's close enough for me!)
I was so pleased with her imagination skills that I quickly lifted Bella & the cushion & 'flew' them around the lounge! *fun*
It's honestly crazy how much they are growing & developing, but it's brilliantly amazing & I love it!

So what did you see today?

Happy Weekend!
S xxxx

What is next?

{a picture-less post, but one i need to make!}

After sorting out all eleventy million scrapbook pages of  our Family antics over the over 3 years I now feel a sense of relief.  I don't generally panic about scrapping, but I do fear missing something.  So getting this task, which had been bothering me for some time, under my belt meant I could move right along to the pages of the future knowing pretty much everything i wanted to document had been done.

~( and in this i don't mean i have to get things DONE, like its a chore, i know this is how it sounds, i cant make it sound better, but well i just like to be up to date really)~

I have spent a long time being sure that I am happy with my Document 2011 album, and there are some months that I look at and think, hmmmmm not too keen on the papers, or the journalling cards, but that is OK. I have decided that those were the supplies I was happy to use at the time and I am NOT going to change them! Who would care anyway?

So, with almost all of Doc '11 wrapped up.  ( I got the last picture printed  last week so i can go right ahead and scrap it.) I am raring to get it all on here and let you see it all in its glory!
That is a task for tomorrow ands the hope of good light!

Now i have been taking some advice from a friend about writing and I am trying diligently to progress with my style! So if I appear out of character then, be warmed! I am hoping not, I simply hope that my style in blogging, as with scrapbooking, is ever evolving.

So what are my aims?

I will always keep this place light hearted.  No!,  my life is not perfect, perhaps, in some opinions, far from it.  But i don't feel this is the place to air grief with people or situations.,  I am truthful and honest here, but i tend only to share the positive. 
This way is right for me and that's the way i want to go. 

I do however want to share more real life, the every day, the way we as a family go about our existence, routine, opinions on popular culture etc.
 So there may well be a few oddity stories thrown in to check you are listening!

I happen to love my little spot on the web, I really love blogland.  Its a place for 'me' I love to be encapsulated in the goings on in other peoples lives.  So I aspire to write more of my life and thoughts more frequently. This is mainly due to the realisation that as i sit in hope that some of my favourite writers have written something that day,i really should write something too!
 Even if,at times, its just for me!

So where did all this come from?

I have been reading a set of posts by a lovely lady named Sarah. She has shared a great deal of her life  with us, the blogging community, over the past month and I am inspired to do the same.
She did however be more brave than I am, she asked her readers to prompt her with questions relating to things they would like to know about her. My reason for not asking this is fear of response, or lack of , so i wont.  But i will say that i would love to carry out something similar and to do that i will choose the content, or take inspiration from blogs i have read recently!

So with a new blogging hope,  the aforementioned elevently millions pages sorted and a plethora of new albums to fill.  What will be my scrappy goals for this year?

Simply......

Have fun, complete Project Life, scrapbook the stories I want to remember and blog about as much of it as i feel is warranted!

Starting with a (i totally stole this idea from Leanne) post including every page of Document 2011.

Here's to a more varied and frequent set of posts.

Thanks for sticking around.

Happy Saturday

xxxxx

 

Project life week 2!

Hi!
Where did this month go??

So I'm up to date!!!

I plan to be creating this weeks pages later on this evening!

There is so much chat about PL going around that it's hard not to stay focused. So many of my friends (scrappy) are doing it too, so having their inspirational pages around too is helping loads!

So this week has been a real 'back at work week' where lots of our life has revolved around the normal. But that's ok these bits are those I want to remember.

As I have a core kit, having the journal cards to hand is awesome & great for keeping the theme running. But I have been seeing some fab freebies out there too & have pinned a ton. I have printed & used a few this week & plan to do more next week too.
If you are in doubt because of buying all the supplies I would urge you give PL a go. It's not too late & you can do it with whichever page protectors you have handy.

So week 2!






I am super super happy with these. There are details of events , but also lots of everyday details too.
I also liked adding some history in here too like the bunny you can see , the story is 3 years ago on the 10th of Jan I found out I was pregnant with Bella & I wanted to pick up a gift for my new bump so I got Flopsy & he has been with us in Bella's room ever since.
I love him & so does Bella!



Oh! oooops! I still need to mount the last picture, doh! I messed up on that with some mist so reprinted!

Looking back at these I think I'll use more patterned paper next week too!! Fun !

So who else is playing along ?
I'm crazy addicted to reading PL posts & seeing people pages I just love this project!

Im excited to get started this eve !!

Xxxx

Project life week 1

So I certainly hit the ground running this week. I am so far up to date & going well with my ns for PL 2012.

I work my pages Sunday to Saturday. Purely as that's when the new year started.

I have included lots of bits & piece from last week & am very pleased with it. I made this last Sat night (7th jan) so plan to do this weeks tonight!

Having a little one around means Saturday nights are usually spent at home!

So wanna see a quick picture?

Sorry it's only small & an iPhone snap but it's all I have for now!





Hope you have a great weekend.

Much is love

Sally xxxx

Sorted!

Happy new year !! I decided that I wanted to start 2012 with a fresh scrapping mind. So what does this entail? Well being up to date on all my pictures! Yes! That's me saying I wanted to have scrapped all my pictures from the past. Well I kinda have! I have been cheating slightly though! I've been using the AC divided page protectors to do mini layouts on pictures I want to keep but knew didn't need a whole layout. So with a lot of perseverance I got there. The reason, I don't want to feel weighed down by 'having' to scrap occasions etc. it's a self inflicted pressure. But I wanted it away. It's gone! Yes there are a million images on my pc that I have not scrapped, there are puck urea I live that remain un scrapped, but each detail, each milestone, each occasion has been lovingly documented & I am ready for the new way. What is this way? Project Life! Indeed it is! I hope to keep up, I am sure I will. I want to get it all in, & I think this is the way! I adored document 2011. More on that in another post. So ur seemed perfect to do something similar again. I bought PL from a uks member. It's a few years old but pristine & awesome! So I'll be sharing weekly just how far I am going with PL I'm excited. Fact! So to ensure I was totally ready to move on I sorted all if Bella's layouts into a systematic form, rather than just places in an album when finished & where there is space. They are now in date order. This was my pile. I tool them all out of the albums they were in.


Sorted them into . Right pile positive test to 1st birthday. Middle pile 1-2 years. Left pile 2+ Then these went into month order. I didn't take a picture if the millions of piles! Doh!! They then went into these albums with space left in them for title pages for each month should I wish to do them.


Look how neat they all are! I am super pleased. They are now upstairs in a cupboard giving me more space in my expedit for current projects. But still accessible for looking at. Adding to (if I went crazy!!!) So there you have it. What are your plans for 2012 & scrapping?? I'd love to know!! Ttfn Sally xxx

Merry Christmas

I'll be one busy mummy this Christmas. So I just wanted to drop in now and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Thank you for popping by, I genuinely hope you have a wonderful time!

Love & kisses

Sally :)

Jyc 11

So I'm sorted & on track to have a full & fab Christmas journal this year! I have always finished the past years so I am hoping to keep the tradition going!!

So far this is what's going on .
I'm using an 8.5x11 AC album.
Shimelle's kit & a Ton of other christmassy items I have picked up like Holly jolly (echo park) & Bella Blvd.

So my inside page/from cover! Kinda!!


Page 1. Our plan! (manifesto!)
Do you like my improvised picture?

I plan on printing in batches! Or maybe at the end! Either way I'll take a picture, save it in project 365 & then print later!! ((it's cheaper this way!)


& this is 1/12/11 photo



Dec 2nd




Bella & I were poorly on Friday so here is a page all about that. We stayed home & did painting crafts & snuggled!!

Oh and the face the weather is massively different to last year!!




Dec 3rd


Wonderful day. Trimming and decorating our home :)))

This is a decoration from last year, but it means a lot to us. How lucky we are to have our little girl. Thanks Santa!



So far so good!

I am feeling very very festive. Lights. Scented candles. Hot drinks & yummy food! I feel very lucky!!!

So I'll leave it there & share the next few days soon .

Happy December everyone :)
Xx

''Cottage in the Country mark 2''

So this time last week i was somewhere on the M1 making my way, with Rach and Nat, to our awesomely fun weekend away at Crafty Cottage!

I got to spend the weekend with most ( i say most as Laura and Chloe were absent this time kinda) of my scrappy girls. I tell you every time how fab these ladies are, but seriously they really are, and this time was pretty damn amazing!!

I love these girls, i really do and I am so pleased to count them as friends.

The weekend was a well needed ( if not snot filled) get away from the crazy times that are upon us!

I adore Christmas that's a given, but it was so nice to switch off for a few days and be encapsulated in fun and friendship!! ( i am soppy, but i don't care!!)

The usual gang were there, including, Leanne, SJ, Jen, Shim, Katy, Katherine, Rach and Nat. Laura did pop along though! i would have been VERY sad to have missed her all weekend, and, and, and she brought along the cutest bundle in the form of Lady Abi, she is the most adorable little cutie. Its safe to say we were all smitten with Miss H !

(oh my broody ness saw new heights!!!)

We honestly had a fab time, and we got to exchange out secret Santa presents!!!  I totally love love love my gifts, they are perfecto!!! I know my Santa put a LOT of time, thought and effort into my gift and its not wasted for sure!!! I am a lucky girlie!!!

Thank you Santa :))))))

I saw my receiver get her gift and she was thrilled too!! Sooooo yay!!! brill or what??

Amongst all the fun and gossip.  Oh and filming!! ( more on that later!!) I actually managed about 17 layouts in total! i was really pleased as i only did one on Sunday, so the rest were Friday night and Saturday!

I am really pleased with that effort as i talked A LOT!!!!!

(Thinking about it makes me wanna be transported back there, RIGHT NOW!!! lol)

So here are a few of the pages I made. Maybe ill split the rest over a few days. Interspersed with some JYC'11 pages!! and maybe another film!! yes, i am getting very brave!!

These are in no particular order:

Stunning!! Enough said really !!!

Chatting, Bella is talking so much now, she has like a gazillion different words that she can say, and I fall head over heels in love with her again and again each time she finds a new one!! It's crazy how quickly she is developing, its almost an overnight occurrence!!

My favourite so far is her way of saying, absolutely and definitely! Such big words for a little girlie!!!

 Grandpa pigs train! Oh how she loved Peppa World, and still chats about it now!!  I think she felt rather regal riding around and waving at the other people!! cute!!! 

Ah my all time favourite thickers!!!  I love them!!!

 So on our last weekend away we ( I ) coined the phrase love in a bucket, so i figured it was only right to scrap it!! This picture was the most awesome for this title, and i was thrilled that it fit so well!!! SCORE!!!  it's a quick layout, using a small amount of supplies, but i still love it.  Maybe there is a technique in there somewhere?

 I have used gro bags since Bella was 10lbs, that's quite a long time!!

I was so excited to use them , I had planned to, right from learning of them, but once she was here and rapidly approaching the ideal weight for them i got a little nervous, i think i just got used to her little blanket!! 

 Well there really was nothing to worry  about.  We both loved them instantly.  they made night feeds easier, as they kept her warm so no cold basket to return to!

This one is my favourite as it matches her lovely room, it's roundabout girls by mamas and papas. HEART!!!

I admit to still having 2 that still fit, they are both 18-36 mth ones with a beautiful butterfly design on . They are not used that much anymore as Bella is in a bed now, but i just cant bear to part with them!! True Story!!

 I genuinely think Bella thought she was driving the whole ride around whilst sat in the little van.  She was totally in her element.  She kept asking,  Bella Drive Mummy?" to which i was happy to reply that she was in deed driving.  She was thrilled bless her!! and thanks to free ride wrist bands Bella went back on this a million times more!!!!  YAY!!!/

So there you have them.  I will be back soon to detail the front cover and first page of my JYC 2011 album. 

xxxxxxxx

Sarah's Cards Guest DT... that's me !!!!!

 A few weeks ago I got the most awesome email from Lianne at Sarah's Cards, asking me if i would like to work with their November kit, as a guest Design Team member. 

Seriously?

Seriously?

Whaaaaat?

I almost jumped off the sofa with excitement! SCORE!!!

Of course i said YES! i was thrilled, I replied straight away.

i was so lucky to get to work on the Crate Random kit. It's really gorgeous, full of a real mix of both masculine and feminine papers. It's so versatile. I really loved it.

Fun!!!!!

So i really wanted to display my own style in the pages i made, as that was what won me the place, but i also wanted to challenge myself too.

Have a look and see what you think!

---------------------------

This first one is my little girl Bella, on our summer holiday in the Canaries. I wanted to reflect the bold bright colours in the picture, so i chose the papers and embellishments to suit. This kit is full of lots of lovely little bits that really make the page come together. I love, love,love the butterflies they are so cute! They rub on really easily too.

Bunting bunting bunting!!! It's always a winner in my eyes! 

Bella on her 2nd birthday in her party frock.  she looks grown up and so cute and tiny all at the same time. The bunting was really simple to make, just rectangles with a 'v' cut out of the bottom.  ohhhh and those resin flowers at each end?? lucky to get some of those!! YEPPO!!

Now, this picture is darling to me. My lovely little family, after signing happy birthday to Bella at her awesome awesome party!

I wanted to make this one a little different to my usual style, I wanted to push myself a little further.  I am really happy with it. It's girly and cute, to reflect the theme of the day, but also has masculine elements to reflect Jack.

i like the concept of making some of my own embellishments to allow my stash to go further.  So I went ahead and started punching out shapes, inking edges and layering up the pieces until i got some elements i was pleased with.

i am really pleased with these! :)

Don't you just love the jillibean soup letter stickers?? Brill, cute, pretty!!

Finally, I made this last layout to show how much you really can get out of one kit. 

There is still loads left to play even after all of these!!

So strips of paper layered up to form a mat, and whack on top a cute pic! ( thanks Katy!!)

Then i used a ton of elements from the embellishment collection, and the stickers to make a second focal point away from the picture. I Love to layer. It looks interesting and fun.

Plus who doesn't love an Instagram picture!! Wooop

So there you have it.  I had a great time working with the kit, I feel so fortunate to have been asked to be a GDT member.

i hope those of you who subscribe, have a fab time playing with your kits, and those of you who don't, have been inspired to pop over to Sarah's, pick up a kit and have a play!

Here's a pic of the loveliness :)

Happy scrapping :)