Where has the time gone?

The last few weeks have flown by and soooooo much as happened! I've been mad busy with work and socialising but very little time for being creative (tough life, eh?)

John's 30th Birthday

...... yeah right!!! At the begining of December the usual suspects (and a few others too) were invited to a candle lit sworee at John and Rays apartment for John's 30+ birthday. He has exaggerated his age for so long that he now has difficulty remember his real age. As always everything was just superb, the food, the wine, the craic :)

John as you can see is a handy with a screw driver (LMAO). He is busy assembling my birthday gift......

....which in my opinion was very appropriate gift, PMSL! Happy 30th John!

Secret Santa

Years to come my darling daughter is going to kill me for photos like this one. Here she is before breakfast last weekend pulling the names for the Secret Santa on Craft Supplies. There is about 38 crafters signed up to SS this year, posting was last friday and parcels will be arriving in their doors over the next few days. I wonder how long they will last before being opened????

Getting Ready for Christmas
Being busy with work jet setting around the world... ok to the UK this time.. I've produced very simple Christmas cards this year. The cricle punch is a God send, that with the ric-rac, gems for a little bling and some doodles made for a quick assembly line of cards.


Getting the tree decorated this year was a sinch as it was the first year Shona had any interest in helping. She did a wonderful job, my little helper.



Sleep Over
Shona's cousin Bayleigh has been to visit for a sleep over, actually twice in the last few weeks. The girls get on so well, its such a lovely realtionship and they have so much in common... as you can see!

Portraits

Last Sunday, Shona and I headed to my sisters for lunch. It was the perfect oppurtunity to get some family snaps as part of my Christmas gifts. Here is my gorgeous sister Louise, she is soooo photogenic.

Here she is with her two handsome dudes. They growing up so fast and yet are the most gentlemanly boys I know.

Work is finished until the new year, I had loads of days to use up before 08, so next week is dedicated to shopping, crafting, small bit of cleaning and loads of chilling!!!!! :)

Last sunday at the cork crop i got my November kit from Annamarie, I was really looking forward to getting this as it looks gorgeous online. All I can say is Wow!!! This kit did not disappoint. The Fancy Pants papers are just devine!!!! And the felt shapes are scrummy to work with. I made one of my Christmas pressies with it this week, its a covered telephone book.

BTW, I loved the tea and chocolates (3 of each comes with the kit), what a fabby idea, when I finished doing the book I had only one choc left (Green and Black too my favourite) :)

For Scrap West this week I covered another telephone book - trying to get all the pressies done asap! This one could of done with the felt in yellow, but mad do with hand cut swirl. The papers are one of my favourite all time collection by Crate Paper.

I started my savings for Scrapaganza! And to keep me on track I altered a mayonaise jar, wish me luck that I have enough in 6 months time :)

Another candle light supper tomorrow night, this time in John and Ray's apartment. We are celebrating John's 30th birthday (yeah right). Have a fabby weekend all :)

Blackie

Blackie was a stray that my Mum looked after every summer in Kerry for the last few years. When he first arrived at the cottage he was in an awful state but My Mum looked after him well and by the end of each summer he would look so much more healthier. With my parents living in an apartment they did not have the chance to bring him home. But ever summer Blackie would arrive at the cottage a day or two after they arrived. This year my parents spent about 7 months in Kerry, so Blackie's coat looked amazing, he was so healthy and glossy looking. When Shona and I went to Kerry in August the cat was really friendly too, following Shona all over the cottage, playing with her and being very affectionate. Mum and I were in shock!

Last week I got a call from my Mum to say that Balckie had passed away. His breathing had been very laboured all week and with her heading back to Killaloe she was thinking maybe he should be put to sleep. The night before he died my Mum had him on her lap for hours, just talking and rubbing him (very unusual for this cat), eventually she had to go to bed so she put the cat out, the next morning he was dead. I know my Mum is heart broken but as she knows at least he hah a great 7 months and knew he was loved.

Cork Crop

Wow! What another fantastic crop from Caroline! It was an early start with a late night before up until 2.30am with Annamarie, catching up on her trip to Scarpaganza (I am so going in June). We collected Ber on our way and really missed Kate (*sniff) hopefully she will be with us on the next trip :)

What made this a wonderful day? There was a few things actually! Tigger arrived with Bronwen, it was so good to see them both with everything that has happened over the last 2 weeks. Tigger was a vision of orange loveliness and such a ray of sunshine!!! Annamarie's shop is just amazing!!! Imagine all the stock was outside my house the night before and I didin't insist she unpack it all for me to have a quick peek :O Carolines class was brilliant! A tansparency mini book in Autumnal colors - yummy! Once I have it finished I pop up a photo.

We finished off the day with a gorgeous meal in Corbetts Court near Charleville. The chocolate fudge cake is to die for! I would recommend it to anyone!!!!

Right back to work, talk soon :)

Scrap West

Oh my, where does the time go? Its the 23rd of November already. I can't believe how fast this year is going. Do years go faster the older you get? Anyways below are 2 LO's from Scrap West. This first one is called "Just the two of us". Tis funny, Shona and I were singing this song all last week, we even got on youtube to find Will Smith's version, which I think is da bizz.

This weeks Scrap West set by Audrey is called "Books". The perfect oppurtunity to scrap these photo's of my babes in the Killorglin Library back in August. I love to read books now but as a child I'd prefere to play with my Cindy Dolls, so where on earth did my little Mrs get her love of books? From such an early age she can't get enough of them, it really feeds her imagination :)

Anyone want to listen to the song we've been dancing and singing to all week? here ya go. Just make sure you sing out loud!

Kerry

On the way down to Kerry yesterday, we decided to break up the journey by stopping at a playground we often see but have never been in. It is on the Kerry side of Abbeyfeale. It is very compact but as you can see Shona had loads of fun :)

We stopped off at the Cottage to say hi to Pappa Bud, then headed off again while the weather was still dry. We usually go to the stoney beach (aka Cromane) but this time we drove by the beach and headed to the fishing area, where the famous Cromane Mussels come from. The journey down was really bumpy but great fun.

It is a small area with no pier, loads of small boats and machinery sitting around. There was a huge artic being filled with mussels, heading to Holland. We got out and explored the area, with the fishermans eyes on us, I'm sure no one in their right mind would be down this far unless they had to. Being two city girls it was fun for us to see a part of Irish life we wouldn't see every day. Mind you I think it is worth it as the view is amazing!

Shona was very accomondating witht he camera, mind you she didn't know half the time I was taking photos as I had a zoom lens. This shot below, I think she was on her way over to give out, LOL!

We had such a laugh, just walking and talking (and me shooting). I've been so busy for the last few weeks that it is wonderful just to slow down, breath in the sea air and really appreciate what is around you :)

Oh it's been such a long time since I updated the blog, just such a busy time at work and by the looks of it it won't let up until next June. When I think back to this time last year, when I was working with the charity, knowing it wasn't going to last, I realise how lucky I am and I'm so grateful and happy with where I am now today :)

This weeks Scrap West was Changing Colours. I picked a colour I normally wouldn't use (baby blue) and teamed it with some of what I would use (pink). The "S" shape was to create a sort of balance on the page but in a fluid way. The idea behind the journalling came from my last marketing trip... "This is not a..." I am thinking about doing an album called "This is not an Album". The idea is to describe the item/person etc in a way that gives it more a personal feel. Looking forward to this.


Every second wednesday I am at the Limerick & District photo club, where we either have a competition or a visiting speaker. At the moment I find it diificult to sit for 2 hours solid and listen to someone talk technical after putting down a days work. I know it will get more interesting over the next few weeks. Below are some shots of the family business which rolled into the local shopping centre over the mid term. The next competition is called movement, so I may enter it this time.

The Bank Holiday Monday, Ber and I headed off for the day and drove around Co. Clare taking some nice Autumn shots. Mind you the first two shots were taken beside where I work.

As part of my Christmas gifts to friends and family I am doing a little photo shoot for each of them. I managed to get 2 lots done over the Bank Holiday weekend, mind you they haven't seen these yet and I know Viv will be on the phone (or email) as soon as she sees this :) I love this shot, aren't they such a gorgeous family :)

I had such a laugh with John and Ray, I think this was such a chore for them but I got some fab shots of the two of them :)

Shona and I are heading off to Kerry tomorrow for the night to see my parents. Have to bring the laptop to do a little work for meeting next week, mind you I don't mind one bit. I so love my job!

Enjoy the weekend all!

Scrap West Cyber Crop

Ok, hope you've all kept Sunday 21st as free as possible as we have a day full of creativity :)

Class Times
8am-9am: Best Freinds Forever by Kate - 6"x4" B&W photo Landscape
9am-10am: Beautiful Bride by Noelle - 5"x7" B&W or Sepia photo Portrait
10am-11am: Lucky Me by Annamarie - 3 photos 3"x2"
11am-12pm: You Are My Sunshine by Lainey - 5"x7" B&W photo Landscape
12pm-1pm: Permission by Crafteire - 6"x4" B&W photo Portrait
1pm-2pm: If Friends Were Flowers by Ruth - 5"x7" B&W photo Landscape
2pm-3pm: Play by Eva - 6"x4" photo Landscape
3pm-4pm: Circle Of Friends by Carrie - No photos
4pm-5pm: Jackie's Cards
5pm-6pm: Flag Book by Caroline
6pm-7pm: Fancy Framing by Audrey - 7"x5" photo Portrait

There are a few kits left on Crafteire and some of the Pirate Princess papers for Jackies class, so get them while you can! :)

Bad Girls Class 4 & 5 and Antwerp

Bad Girls Class 5 - Unity. I really loved doing this class, I concentrated on the unity of colour shape and repitition. I got the idea for the title from a LO that Tigger did of Sophie, really clever :)

Last week I was in Antwerp for a marketing meeting. I know I complained alot about going but I loved it when I got there! We got loads of work done but we also had such a laugh. Its amazing how you can still laugh in broken english, hee hee! Coporate took us all out for a gorgeous meal in Antwerp and we did a little sight seeing along the way. I took these photos with my mobile as I wouldn't dare bring my new baby!!!

Bad Girls Class 4 - White Space. I found this one really difficult to do, but still enjoyable. The classes really get you thinking about what you're doing.

Shona and I have taken the day off to have a girlie day, it was her Birthday on Sunday, so we are heading off for lunch, a little shopping and maybe even a DVD later :)

Bad Girls & Scrap West

This weeks class on Bad Girls is design elements, we have to choose one, I have picked Shape.

"Triangles suggest action. They can convey either conflict or strength. Triangles can direct movement rather than moving themselves, they point the way"

I picked the triangle to represent the conflict I have in relationships, to suggest me always moving my decisions, not knowing what i want or rather wanting it all. Hoping that one day I find my way.


This week in Scrap West the theme was set by Jackie and was called Going Dotty :) This is a photo of Shona and I with our Crocs and Jibitz. Shona was very slow on the take up of wearing Crocs, however this summer she couldn't wait to get a pair and to pick out her Jibitz too :)

Have a fabby weekend :)

Lustful thoughts...

...anyone who knows me knows how lustful I am, ha ha! But since this is a family blog I had to scrap something suitable for a general audience for the Scrap West blog, the theme this week being "Seven deadly sins - pick one"... Just one?

From the day I saw Lisa Browns Scraproom i was in LUST! I didn't envy her as all Scrapbookers root for each other, I really lusted after a room like hers, its just so neat and tidy, loads of light, really well organised and in RED! I contacted Lisa to make sure it was ok to use photos of her Scraproom, which she kindly gave me permission to use (good thing as the LO was done already, ha ha!), she also informed me this was her "old" scraproom - i forgot to ask what she did with it... I have images of it sitting on the trash heap of unwanted scrap spaces (OMG! the horror). Anyways, thanks Lisa... one day, when i win the lotto or find my sugar daddy, I'm going to have a scrap space like yours (even if its only like that for 5 mins)

This weeks class in Bad Girls was texture and dimension. It was really unusual to design a page with these two aspects in mind, rather than letting the page evolve. It took 2 days for me to decide on the final look and when I glued the flowers down, it looked exactly the same as my first choice.....The photo of Shona was tken first thing saturday, you can see she is a morning person :) The papers are from Crafteire, its the new Cherry Arte collection called Kitty Lou - the ones Amber Jane named!!!! Love them all, just so beautiful:)

I don't think I mentioned my new motto.. "Just Do It".. I have a habbit of thinking things through, thinking of every outcome in every situation, so when I was asked to go on a blind date recently I spent 3 days making up my mind whether or not I would, then I spent about a week thinking about why I think so much...... So eventually when I did make up my mind I also decided that I needed a motto, hence "Just Do It". So now when I find myself thinking a bit too long about a decision I just remind myself to "Just Do It"..... then 3 days later I do it!

Bad Girls Assignment #1

Assignment #1 for the Bad Girls Top Designer was colour theroy. Turquoise is one of my favoutite colours. It looks so fresh, crisp and calm. However i really love the combination of turquoise with more muted colours such as brown and beige, which i believe warms up such a cool colour. The meaning of Turquoise: calming, emotional healing, protection, refreshing, sophisticated.

The papers are DCWV, turquoise and beige cardstock and chipboard letter which i covered with brown ink and turquoise paint.

There is some amazing LO's on the gallery and there's still time to sign up and get your assignment in by thursday night!!!