BY2010 February sketch blog hop

Oh dear all left to the last minute and all gone a bit wrong!! Tried to print of my pics but the printer is out of ink... DH thinks I have it in my crafty corner, I think he has it in his office corner and now no-one seems to have ink!! So this LO is unfinished, unstuck and unintentionally late!
Kate from Liberty Cottage set up BY 2010 and this month it was K's turn to design the sketch (see below) for us to use in our February layout, she made 2 example Layouts using the sketch so do check them out on her fabby blog for more inspiration

This is my attempt at this layout

As you can see I have adapted this sketch to use snowflakes instead of circles as my photographs are all about the day I walked to work and it was snowing. The snowflakes are both bought and punched. Not sure if this will be changed slightly when I finally put it all together as I need to add a title, my journalling and I might need to re-organise my embellishments! But hopefully you can see what the scrapbook elements are despite all the details missing!!

Hopefully you came here from http://kscraftycorner.blogspot.com/ and next you should head over to Sam's blog at http://cardsbyjones.blogspot.com/

In case the blog hop breaks down the list to visit is as follows:-

http://kscraftycorner.blogspot.com/

http://chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com/

http://cardsbyjones.blogspot.com/

http://libertycottage.blogspot.com/

http://socksandscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

http://clearingthebrambles.blogspot.com/

Right I am off to blog hop to look at all the wonderful creations from this fab sketch. Thanks K for providing great inspiration this month xxx

Isle of Wight part 4

Wednesday afternoon we visited the Needles as it was a bright clear day. Sadly the same could not be said for Thursday which yet again was grey and raining. So we visited Amazon World. There were plenty of animals, insects and birds inside as well as some outside. I am not sure how impressed some of the animals were with the torrential rain. The penguins didn't seem to mind and were as amusing as usual

Photograph 49/365

and we saw a Jeffries Cat, not much bigger than a domestic moggie. It was so close I could have touched it, but there were signs saying it would bite so I resisted the temptation. It soon took refuge from a subsequent downpour.We spent quite a bit of time at Amazon World as we left for lunch in a nearby pub then returned to see some more creatures. I have to admit that I really am intrigued by bats in captivity and I spent ages watching them flying and feeding in the dark whilst trying to get a decent photograph for a bat mad friend!On the Friday we had a 'mystery tour', this meant everyone piled in the car, with the children right at the back in the third row and we headed off to the as yet, unexplored part of the island.

I started off exploring the garden as it was so beautiful, part lawn and part orchard and throughout the wooded area there were numerous patches of pure white snowdrops, spring is definitely on it's way.

Photograph 50/365

On Saturday we left our lovely cottage, by the sea and headed back to the real world.

Photograph 51/365

Isle of Wight part 3

Monday started very early with DS coming into our room and telling us in great detail about his vommiting!! So a long night for me keeping a close eye on him so we were very tired all day. At least he got to crash out on the sofa.

Photograph 46/365

By Shrove Tuesday all was well and we started the day with pancakes for breakfast, complete with very impressive tossing from DH, we all had lemon and sugar my favourite!

After eating our fill of yumminess we headed to Dinosaur Isle in Sandown. The weather was pretty awful and this was inside and we spent time studying all the exhibits. It was really interesting, the kids got really involved studying the exhibits and asking questions, who knows maybe we have a budding paleontologist on our hands!Photograph 47/365

We were so keen to learn more that on Wednesday morning we went back to Sandown to meet with a real 'dinosaur man' and go on a 'Fossil Walk'. We did find some fossils of fish bones, shells and worm casts but we were disappointed not to find the thigh bome of an Iguanodon! A picture of my feet amongst fossils

and a view of the sandy, wet, windswept beach creating an amazing pattern

Photograph 48/365

Isle of Wight part 2

Obviously we had to explore our neighbourhood so we walked into Cowes along the Esplanade and boy was it cold! My mum sensibly stayed in the warmth of the cottage.
I really liked Cowes it was a real mixture of restaurants and gorgeous arty shops and I particularly liked this one. Els is staring at the amazing dinosaur light... I was very good and looked but didn't buy!

On the Sunday we walked the other way to Gunard and the 2 highlights were the childrens play area that looked really well made mostly out of wood like this 'boat'

and throwing stones. It is quite a pebbly beach but kept us entertained for a while.
Photograph 45/365

Old Skool Stash Blog Hop

Kate from Liberty Cottage has got us all sorting through those dusty unused papers or finally using those 'special' papers that we were saving for a rainy day (which is most days at the moment!)

This is the blog hop from start to finish, just in case you get lost along the way!.....
http://libertycottage.blogspot.com/
http://kscraftycorner.blogspot.com/
http://scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/
http://itsnotterrysitschoccys.blogspot.com/
http://clearingthebrambles.blogspot.com/
http://chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com/
http://marygailscorner.blogspot.com/



I am afraid I have chickened out of using my old/saved stash to do a scrappy layout and opted for the card alternative instead. I needed to make some cards to send to friends while I was on holiday last week. I had to do something fairly simple as I didn't want to take away loads of crafty bits just for a few cards and it had to be quick as I needed to get them made and posted and I was busy!



Several months ago I made some cards for a charity challenge with some old papers and I decided to recreate a few of the same designs again



I have used some 12 x 12 birthday papers (from one of those mystery parcels, every page had been cut in 2 and stuck back together so could not be used properly!!) I cut them up into squares (in advance at home!), rounded the corners, put 5 on a card and stuck a coordinating birthday cake sentiment in the middle.... simple and fast! The fourth card is an alternative using 2 Cuttlebug embossed pink squares that I made the day my CB arrived and have had sitting here ever since, with a few pinky pearls. 3 of these cards are now with the birthday girls!


Please go visit Marygails blog all the way over in Colarado to see what she has been making. Enjoy the blog hop and thanks again Kate for starting us off and hope we do it again soon!

Isle of Wight part 1

For half term we had a trip to the Isle of Wight. My parents came too so there wasn't enough room in the car for everyone, plus all the luggage so I decided to travel by train. I think this was probably a bit selfish of me in some ways as I got to travel in peace and quiet whilst reading Patricia Cornwell... blissWe did all meet up in Portsmouth for the Wightlink Ferrythen in 2 car journeys we travelled to Cowes and our lovely National Trust cottage (East Rosetta if you want to see it on their website) right next to the water (well there was a small road in between!)Photograph 44/365 The cottage is Victorian and is where Winston Churchill's parents met. It still has many of the original features including fireplaces and a huge range.

valentine's Day revisited

Well, I am completely out of the blogging habit having been AWOL from here for just over a week but determined to get back into it, especially as it encourages me to share my crafting and mostly my chatting with you but also with me! Sometimes it helps to put things down in writing.

I shared the valentines day card I made for hubby but there were a few other bits and pieces to celebrate the day of lurve...

I discovered a very talented lady at a local craft fair who makes beautiful arty objects from glass and wire and I couldn't resist getting one for DH they are fabulous!

These were the little bags I made up for everyone to open on the day. They contained chocolate hearts, love heart sweets and little packets of bird seed (really sweet, printed from a blog that I have los,t from a pdf that I didn't save and I forgot to take a photo!!). The childrens had bendy straws too, which DD loves but I am not keen on as they are difficult to clean...... can you see what they say??? LOVE! Hubby did anonymously leave me a card on my pillow bless him!

How was Valentine's day for you? Do you love it or loathe it? I am a fan as love putting together little pressies and have actually held Valentine's parties for the children in the past! We were away this year so I was pretty conservative as didn't have much room to take all the crafting accessories!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am trying this one out...... to get this post to come on tomorrow! I am experimenting with delaying the published time so here goes!

I have loads of little bits and pieces to give out on Valentine's Day, to all the family but I am not 'putting them together' until the actual day so I will post a piccy at a later date. I have however just about managed to put together hubby's card. I opted for a really simple design (don't I always!?) It is a scalloped card from Craftwork Cards with a simple wooden embellishment mounted on a creamy white heart doily, then on dark red card. I think he will like it and hopefully it will stay together better than last year when my adhesive failed and we ended up with a pile of hearts, buttons and sentiments!!!

Have a wonderful day full of love spent with those closest to you. Celebrate even if you are single, with loved ones, give your family a call, give the cat/dog/pet a treat or pamper yourself as we all need to start with loving ourselves!! xxx

It's all go....

as usual in the Furrypig household!! My parents are staying and we're planning a few days away too, so let the madness begin! So I am popping on this morning as who knows when I'll get a chance to come back and chill out on my little blog. I will miss you all but look forward to catching up with you all properly soon.

Back to Thursday which was mostly a work and weigh in day but I didn't show my 365 photo from that day. DS came home with 2 friends from art club after school and we all ended up sitting/lazing/lying at the top of the stairs so this picture, tho' partly posed, it came about really easily and made me smile!Yesterday I was very lucky, I received this really lovely mini album from Ruth on her fabulous blog. Get over there today and check out this weeks amazing Pink Saturday give away!
It is so beautifully made, my daughter was very impressed that someone had taken the time to make it so expertly and she loved the 'home made by' style stamp on the inside cover.

Sadly, I had to make my first sympathy cards yesterday. I found it really difficult but I think that's partly because of the emotions that come with loss, thinking of my friend and her family. I made one for her and one for her dad, so I was really struggling with what image to use. My best friend from nurse training lost her mother, someone I had known well over the years especially when we were younger and would stay with each other's families. Her health had deteriorated over the years but she will be really missed by friends and family. RIP gone but not forgotten xxx

The biggest loser

I blogged about a whole variety of TV programmes I watch the other day but missed out one of my current favs...

I am totally in awe of the 'biggest loser USA- couples', being shown on sky real lives at 4am! I cannot believe how hard these people work to lose weight with really major gym work outs and scarily hard challenges. They are also often quite coniving with some major game playing going on! It gets very heated and very emotional with tears in every episode (I often shed a few myself!)

There are some great hints and tips and I do find it very motivational in my 'getting healthier' crusade. I went to 'Fat Club' tonight for my weekly weigh in and I lost 1lb??!! After my 7lb loss last week I wasn 't expecting as much but I have been pretty good this week. My aim is to try to lose 2lbs a week if possible. Next week will be hard as it's half term and the whole family is going to be off school/work. We will be having treats, fun, days away and trips out totally out of routine, so I expect to put weight on. Will have to wait 2 weeks for my next weigh in as we are away next Thursday!

I am a guest blogger!!

Slightly late in the day but guess what I have been featured over on the fab 'n' groovy Liberty Cottage blog! The post is entitled take the scrapbooking plunge and is about my journey into the world of scrapping. It was really great to get my thoughts and feelings down and I will pop back over to Liberty Cottage in the future and remind myself of my beginnings! please go visit and let me know what you think!!!!

Latest book and pasta!

Yesterday I managed to start a new book....
tonight I stole some me time and languished in a hot bath with Patricia Cornwell (well the book obviously!) I enjoy reading and must find some more time to catch up on my 'to read' pile of books. Next week is half term and I am off work with no hard and fast routine so I may get to lie in bed with a book or two, fingers crossed!

Today hubby and I were uninspired when planning dinner partly as we haven't managed a proper shop this week so we opted for the store cupboard staple....

Pasta! There are only a few meals that the four of us will all eat and enjoy. This is because DD is actually extremely fussy. I don't know why or how this fussiness has come about but we seem to be stuck with it! DS eats almost anything and loves to try new and varied foods. DD became a vegetarian over a year ago and loves most carbohydrates, several vegetables and will have certain veggie versions of burger, sausage and bacon. She doesn't do any sauces/stews or anything out of 'her' ordinary! So pasta starts off plain in our house, DD would opt for cheese and peas the rest of us like sauce, some veg and even some meat at times!! At least we can eat something together, although the rissotto I showed here last week is really loved by everyone and we all have exactly the same (shock horror!). Any fussy eaters in your house? Favourite family meals??

Fitter and thinner??

As you know I am back on the wagon, attempting to eat more healthily, cut out sweets, chocs and all the other goodies in order to lose some weight! I actually do not believe in completely stopping all the things you most enjoy. It doesn't seem natural to me somehow and I do think that 'a little of what you fancy does you good', but whilst I am highly motivated I am trying to be good most of the time!

I regularly read Di Hickman's blog, she lives in the USA but I think she is from the UK originally. I read her blog primarily to see what craftiness she is involved in, but she also shares her thrift shop finds, her life and her amzing fitness. Anyway last week she was discussing calorie counting and recommended Livestrong.com. If you look at the site you can go to 'my plate' and work out how many calories are in your daily life! Very interesting but not sure I can actually complete it every day!

Another tip was that you shouldn't really lose more than 1% of your weight each week so you can work out how many calories are eaten and how many are used excersising on the website too. I lost 7lbs last week, which was a great shock and I don't think I will have lost that much this week, but will let you know tomorrow after the 'weigh in'. I am aiming to lose about 2lbs a week maximum and plan to start having 'treats' at the weekend!

This week I have also attempted some excersise! I am not keen on the gym, too self conscious for a 'class' and rather inept at swimming (unless it's the doggy paddle!). But I do enjoy walking, so on Monday I got up and walked DS to school which took about 25mins, then returned home on foot. I was a little unprepared as it actually started to snow and I really wanted to capture the dark grey moody sky in sharp contrast to the delicate fragile snowflakes but my photographic skills are just not up to it but I did remember the camera!

I have also walked to school again today and shall do the same on Friday so will have fitted some excersise in this week, but only as I have not been at work everyday. I find it hard to find time to do walking though we do get out together as a family most weekends. Hopefully over half term (next week) we will manage a few walks as we are all off together (so may not be much blogging!!). Do you do any excersise? What do you do?? How do you fit it into your busy lifestyle??

The Face of Defeat

The weekend brought with it another Footie Match on Sunday lunchtime. We played a feisty team with quite a bit of pushing and shoving and several of our boys were getting equally feisty in return! DS was in goal for the first half and sadly a few goal slipped in (I blame the lack of defence!) and for the second half he was in midfield and he had 3 good attempts at scoring. At the end of the match the score was 5-2 to the other team despite a valiant effort. So we were left with a slightly out of breath, red in the face, sweaty son, with the 'face of defeat'.

38/365

TV Choices

On Saturday I was totally lacking in inspiration for a project 365 picture and was just sat in front of the television flicking through the channels. Sometimes you can have too many choices and TV is now like this! Over 100 channels (I suspect having never counted them!) and nothing to watch.

There are actually several programmes I really love and I am a bit of an addict for certain American dramas. I love all the CSI's (original, Miami [apparently most watched TV show in the world], New York...are there any more?), Numbers (anyone watch this one?), Heroes (not so keen on this series but persevering for now), Bones (waiting for the next series), Gray's Anatomy (don't know anyone else who watches this one), Desperate Housewives (initially loved this then stopped watching for a whole season but back into it again and very excited that the lovely John Barrowman of Captain Jack/Torchwood fame will be making a guest appearance soon!!!!). I recently discovered Glee, which is so appealing to me as a secret fan of the whole Disney HSM thing and this is kindof a grown up version I guess!

I do watch some of our homegrown talent too and we do produce some amazing dramas. I am enjoying the second series of Being Human, can't seem to get enough of Vampires (I loved True Blood too much!!, have read all the Twighlight series, camp Edward for me and I have dabbled in Vampire Diaries .... undecided re this series just yet!). I also have to watch Silent Witness (though sadly just finished the current series) and for a complete change of pace, the Hairy Bikers.

Then of course there are programmes that I am forced to watch due to the tastes of others in my household... Top Gear, QI, Mock the Week, University Challenge, Total Wipeout, the Krypton Factor, H2O, Pokemon, to name but a few (some of these I actually quite like but I will leave you guessing as to which ones!)

Overall my TV tastes are a bit like my tastes in life generally.........totally Eclectic! Although I am not currently a fan of any of the British Soaps, I have been in the past but with my addictive personality it is best not to start all that business up again as there are just not enough hours in the day. I like to fast forward through a craft show and look for ideas for papercrafting or new products. I have as yet never made a TV craft purchase.... have you? I do have a weakness for Reality type TV programmes and although I have finally weaned myself off Big Brother (finally!) I still love theother 'competition' shows like X Factor, American Idol, Strictly come Dancing, so You Think You Can Dance and Got to Dance etc etc.

So after talking you through everything that features on my Sky +, what better to take a picture of than the all important remote control (though we actually have 2!

37/365

12x12's, penicillin and a bottle of red

Another couple of days of my life that have passed by unblogged!

Wednesday was my day off so I decided to carry on with trying to sort out some of my crafty stash so I could organise a little more of my crafty space! So I bravely took on all the 12 x 12's...

I didn't actually choose most of these papers, again the majority came from mystery parcels so I have several repeats and many I may never use! I so wish I had some local scrappy friends that I could swop with (or just give them away!!). I have organised them roughly according to colour or manufacturer depending how many of a 'set' that I had.

I am already thinking I should have just done it differently. I actually have hardly any 12 x 12 card and I think I am gonna need a load if I carry on this scrapbooking malarkey. Do you scrap onto card or onto paper?? should I be investing in lots of card in multi-colours or just a few key colours?? HELP!!

DD has been poorly and on inspection into the oro-pharangeal area it looks like tonsilitis. She is now on antibiotics and feeling much better 35/365

Tonight is the start of the weekend and I was given a choice...which one...

Well, as I said it is the weekend and I have cause to celebrate as I did well in fat club last night. I lost.......... wait for it.................7lbs this week!!!! So now I am xx stone 13 lbs!! I have decided the weight I am aiming for is 13lbs away (haven't been that weight for many years). Then I will be well within healthy weight limits with a fab BMI (I am almost into the healthy range for my height but not quite!!!) So continue to (weight) watch this space!!

Must go, I have some Pinot Noir to scoff.......

Boots and stuff

I ended up working for 11 hours yesterday as someone was off sick. I was so tired when I came home that after my shower I could not face going to book club so my social life was a bit of a wash out!! On the plus side whilst at work one of the Docs asked what size feet I had then after I replied handed me a package containing....

these are 'Blundstones' from Australia (also where the Dr is from). I actually wore them for half my time at work to see how they felt and they felt great. Whilst chatting to a patient I asked if he had any questions and he asked if my boots were comfy!!! Will definitely be keeping these though not sure if I will continue to wear them for work!

This evening I was rather lacking in inspiration and hadn't taken 33/365 so decided to snap some of the scrummy risotto that Oh had cooked for our dinner.

BY 2010 Scrapbook encouragement project

This is the project that finally got me scrapbooking! Each month a new sketch will be posted by a new person and we get to interpret it and design our layouts then share them at the end of the month in one big blog hop!

This month it is the turn of the uniquely talented K to provide a sketch. Pop over to K's crafty corner to see her ideas for Februarys LO, I already have some plans and I am really excited to be joining in again this month! Please sign up and commit to joining us in the blog hop on February 28th, it was such fun to be a part of and will be even more fun if you join us!!!