A bit west of east

I got a link from an email friend to go and check our Kieshas blog this afty.
So I did.
Cos you do, don't you?
You have to click the link.
Its like the wet paint theory, in a way.
You see a sign for wet paint but you have to touch, don't you?
You know, just in case its been there for 5 weeks and someone forgot to take down the sign.
Only they are not signs.
Just a note written on the back of a fag packet stuck on with a bit of chuddy.
Anyway.
Kiesha.................
I love her clean and crisp style and I have a fondness to her style of photography.
And you might like to know that she gives free hints and tips on editing photos.
But what I liked most were the frames she uses on her photos and thought id try them on these pictures I took of belle last week.

I also got this today from a blog reader called Kath. Its a little award that you give to someone who then passes it on to others. I was tickled pink when I saw what she had done and here it is

Id like to pass this on a to a blog that has made me giggle today. And it is at this girl's pad: SAM

Ive made about 3.2 million......

layouts today.
The mojo has gone turbo and the herma is almost run dry.
And still I have more to do and I am on a creative roll.
Well, I have to really.
Its my job but I ain't complaining.
First off Vicky at CTM sent me a shed load of papers to make up some layouts for when I go and demo this Saturday. If you live near Soham, do come and pay her a visit. You do know that she has a gazillion papers in stock, let alone the rest of the yummo that comes with scrapping? You don't know that? Come see, come see :)
The papers she sent are far too gorge to cut into to be honest but my inner paper-bitch forced me to grab my X-cuts and shred them to within an inch of their lives. Ive worked with kelly panacci papers today which I must admit, would have overlooked on the shelves. When I got the package and visualised how I would cut it up and since then - the whittling has been constant.
Mum and Dad left this afternoon (sniff sniff) and as soon as their tyres trailed out of the street, I was in my room thinking of delish ways to make pretties. I banged on Juno on the DVD and merrily snipped and ripped and scrunched my way through a ton of work.
It didn't stop there.
I then started on an assignment from DO for their new Creativity Life website and subsequent launch of their new magazine (also called Creativity Life). The website and magazine go live on 1st July. Ive seen it, it looks soooooooooooooo good. And I mean really good. Its lively and bright pages have very little advertisements therefore its super packed with layouts absolutely peppered with BG, DB, WRMK and Clear snap goodies. Its only £2.50 which is lighter on the purse too. The launch day has a hive of giveaways and offers so do make sure you pop back here for the link to the new website!
And finally I have put the finishing touches to a layout that has taken an age to come together. Jaqui kindly donated money to Belles fund back in April in return for a layout made by myself. Its funny that the pictures she sent me are the pictures I took of her in Tullamore last year in Eire. I knew instantly the papers I would use (BG Periphery) plus a vast selection of bling and stickles plus I toyed with Jo-Sonja's opal dust too. This happened to be my favourite layout that I have made this year. I loved that I could choose what I wished to bang on the page which incorporated Prima felt frames and Prima bling. And ever since Ive been using my harlequin background stamp on a few cards a few weeks back, Ive been drawn to make harlequin shapes on a number of projects of late. Are they the new black of shapes on layouts? Who knows, who cares - but I lubs!




I really must dash now. Ive got a pile of Urban Lilly papers and Doodlebug lushness to lick, stroke and then murder.
In that order, Im afraid.
Its got to be done but it will be done as humanely as possible.
Mwahahahahahahahahhahhaha.

The best fun

is always in our house when my parents come to stay.

We just hang out so comfortably with each other and there is never a dull moment.

We spent a lot of time around the table both in and outside playing quizzes and board games today and had such a good time that they decided to stay and extra day. I was overjoyed!

Earlier this afternoon we took a spell from games so that Belle could show Granny and Grandpa her special place at The Three Sisters park. There is a hide to go and view all the wildlife and its especially brilliant because my parents love birds (they spend a small fortune feeding feathered creatures in their garden). What was surprising was seeing a Jay there today. Of course it was too flaming dark to take a picture so you will have to take my word for it. there was a lot of oooooooo's coming from the parents so I guess it was like "major".

The three sisters park is literally 2 minutes from our house and is a place where I take clients for photo shoots. It has a million backdrops but my clients tend to choose the shots I take on the style or in the lane (like these pics below). Im chuffed to bits that my parents let me take a nice picture of them both. This just happens to be one of my new fave pictures of all time. Its super precious to me.

Then of course I have to go an ruin the romance of it all when my father struggled to lift mum off the style. I think I might love this picture more, actch!

And of course I couldn't go without snapping my lil lady with her grampies neither.

Belle with her uncontrollable masses of delish curls.

Who claimed she had found wild cherried but we think they were beech nut type thingies. Put it this way, we encouraged her NOt to eat them. Although I might slip a few in Mark's fruit salad tomorrow. He he heeeeeeeeeeee.

Eddy finishing off marks ice cream. Boy, did that little dog have a treat. And we had such a scream watching him eat it!

So back to the garden to play quizzes and get my ass whipped in the process. Ok, I came second to Mum who is the brains of Britain it would seem. here is dad during his quiz master stretch of the game.

Check me out (mid quiz) advertising the Royal Air Force Careers on my lips, do you think they would offer me some sort of commission? We have a ton of those pens in our house and with 39 years Royal Air Force service between me, my sis and my bro......... a few biro's is a constant reminder of my days there!

The night rolled into Wii fit and Wii sports and rounded off with a game of Balderdash.

And its only half way through the weekend!

Is your weekend any good too?

Cholesterol - a gift from the rellies

My happy Friday feelings this afternoon turned out to be just ok (short lived in all honesty, but nevertheless - a Friday feeling is a Friday feeling and we must never lose sight of it despite any shortcomings).
But prior to the overwhelming Friday feeling I was awoken by a call from my doctors surgery. **It had to be the results of my blood test from two weeks back**. I know this because its highly unlikely that my Doctor is going to ring me up for a random chat and say "'Sup bitch?" is he? And then I only went to the Docs because I have pitting oedema - well, according to my friend Clare who is a nurse said that I had it. Clare, incidentally tells me you only get pitting oedema if you are over 60 and suffer with heart problems.
Ooooh, lucky me.
So when I went to the doctors to tell him I had it and could he give me any water tablets he said no.
Oooooh, I thought. Why ever not?
Cos we needs bloods Mrs Wiseman.
So then I think OMG, I'm dying aren't I. You need my bloods to tell me that I have swelling of the oesophagus or perhaps I have a burst lymph node in my ears. Give it to me straight Doc - how long have I got to live?
He really wasn't in a groovy mood. Doctors never are. I mean, I don't want to be his best friend or anything but a lil chat and sweet talking for free liposuction on the NHS would be really nice.
So anyway.
He orders me to give blood and I go and give some more positive A. Its true that the NHS is bleeding us dry, isnt it? And then I get the call this morning to discuss the result.
He said I had to go in to the surgery in 2 weeks to discuss cholesterol.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrppppppppp?
Hello? Rewind.
I thought this was about my swollen leg not my arteries.
So I shout to my mother (who is staying with us for a few days) - "Thanks Mum, I got cholly and you gave it to me".
Then I go and sit down to a lard fuelled breakfast followed by some cake, chocolate and a second helping of buttered toast and wonder what all the fuss is about.
And now my prediction of dying in December has been cut short to October.
Great.
Must go and eat a tub of butter before I go to bed to help it on its way.
Joy.

Friday Feeling

We gots the Friday feeling in this here house.
What better way is there to fight your way through a pile of crappy emails, tidying up and bad e-jokes?? I plead that you listen to this once and be smitten with it.

I reckon we gots a number one hit single here.
Coldplay - Vida la Viva
LOVE THEM. LOVE IT!

Wanted - Noah to build the ark

Or anyone else with exemplary carpentry skills.
Why? Because its rained solid all day and our back garden is flooded. Ive got a Tortoise and a dog (but not in pairs) and I have room for your pets too.
COME BUILD ME AN ARK, we are drowning!
It was so dark here because of the rain that I couldn't even take one decent picture of my SC layouts. I mean, I have a few sneaks but not all of them because, like I say..... it was pitch black. I managed a whopping 8 layouts and 3 cards this month. I was mojoless to begin with but I found it again after draining the main down pipe at the side of our house. That bloody mojo will be the death of me, unless of course the price of bread doesn't get to me first.

My parents arrived today, later than expected because cars were aqua planing (and not astro gliding in my initial post - pointed out by Ami. Apparenly astrogliding is WUDE in the USA! Look it up on Wiki. Takes me back to the Douche Bag moment) on the road, floods had formed and driving conditions were real bad. And this is pigging June. You know, its exactly one year and one day since the last floods in the UK as well. Just what is happening to this planet, huh?

We went out for a meal regardless and caught up with all the shenanigans of the Kinroy household (Kinroy is my maiden name).We were plotting and planning mums 60th birthday next month. We always have a good get together and this party will be no exception. Dad forgot his glasses and had to read the menu with mums specs, Mark and belle really didn't want their photo taken and mum, being mum, posed for me as ever. Come finishing our meals, the boys went to check out the footy scores (yawn) so we took some time to laugh and giggle. My mother adores belle, I love how they snuggle and laugh with each other. Its a lovely sight, it warms me heart immensely.

Of course I have to act the clown to even have a picture my belle. Mum joined in too.If I count how many decent pics of belle and I, it would be less than 10. That's how much Mark does not pick any one of my 3 cameras. Its drives me bonkers.

Sigh.

We got back home at 9pm and the rains had stopped but it was still pretty dark. Belle and I fashioned an origami boat for our newly installed swimming pool and set it sailing by smashing a coke can on its side and naming her "Titanic II". I was pretty pleased with our folding skills until Eddy went and ate it only half an hour later. Eddy the destroyer, that's what he is. Little sod.

**side note: dark days and nights - use a 50mm F1.4 camera and you can get natural (if not

slightly darker) shots. No good for layouts though, these apertures were F3.5

We are now ready for bed but that wasn't until we had chanted a little sun dance for tomorrow. I just need to take abut 20 pictures for an assignment, that is all. Then it can continue raining all it wants and then we will have pool with both a deep and shallow end to it. Thinking about it, I could use marks body as a diving board. Ooooh, such fun.

Juno and Atonement

Have you seen these films?

I love them both to bits even though they couldn't be farther apart in extremes of cinematography. I watched them both on the way to Cali in Feb and on the way back from Nevada in April and promised myself that as soon as they hit the shelves I'd buy them.

Well Atonement never materialised on my shopping list (nor budget come to think. Talking of shopping budgets I can't believe I have just paid £1.33 for a loaf of bread. A litre of diesel costs the same. At this rate we are going to have to walk everywhere and then not be able to afford to eat after all that exercise. Therefore we are all going to die. By December with my reckoning).

Where was I?

Ahhhhh, Atonement.

I skipped the film on my budget because I weighed up my emotional stability over the two films.Mainly because of the fact that James Macavoy dies in it. The film touched me so much that I think about the tragedy of it all like, a lot. James has come such a long way since Shameless, hasn't he? I only learned recently that he married his on screen girlfriend (Fiona - Anne Marie Duffy).

Dammit.

He clearly hasn't met me yet. You have to admit he is a little bit dishy.

Atonement is right up there with Walk the Line in my all time favvo movies. I might go and buy the movie this weekend but save it for one of those nights when only a "weepy" will do. It will obviously replace our food shopping budget for next week but seeing as we are all going to die by December... does it matter?

Juno on the other hand is such a super uplifting film. I love the dark comedy and Juno's quips. Its a such a fun movie that I know I will never tire of. How she kept her face straight whilst pratting about in the film is a mystery. If you have not seen it, please try and weigh up the costs of buying it in favour of feeding your family over the next few weeks. The overall factor of family fun will douse the hunger pangs and you can go to your grave (in December) a cultured member of the world of Hollywood.

PS:

**thank you to everyone who replied with advice on the Craft Robo. Im very grateful**

Luxurious Angels comes to Crewe

Luxurious Angels experiences are coming to Crewe between 10-12th October.

Wychwood Park hotel is nestled neatly at the edge of stunning PGA golf course (which means you can bring your golf fanatic hubs too). Roz and her team will bring to you all the trappings you have come to expect of Luxurious Angels plus more.

Despite the fact that they are not fleeing the flagship area that Luxurious Angels is accustomed to, Roz will - along with Sarahs Cards Ltd bring you the scrapping event you will not want to miss. There are talks with holding another Luxurious Angels in Scotland, as always, so that everyone gets the chance to enjoy these experiences.

For more details, come and have a lookie here

Little peaches

I loves babies so much but when they come in pairs, its like being bombarded with a whole fruit salad.
Sarahs twins are just, oooooooooooh.... scrumptious. But would they perform? Erm - NOPE!
Fear not for when tots are not sitting all posed and delightful you do happen to catch them at their most natural. I think they look absolutely beautiful doing their best to be as completely charming as ever. And without doubt they moved, they threw paddies and they gave me evils. Sometimes they gave me a smile.
Doing my sums all I can say is that it was the best mornings entertainment I have had in a long time. And to top it all, feeding time was hilarious. I fed James as Sarah fed Amelia. Both of them falling asleep between spoonfuls. I laughed so hard at them fighting that good old Mr Sandman in their eyes. Both Sarah and I were in hysterics and Amelia threw us the most filthiest of looks. Its was most beguiling.
It started off quite jolly with James flashing his two tushy pegs:

Demure Amelia was plotting warfare under those eyelashes - still sugary sweet, mind:
Here comes the death stare:Oh go on, I'll be a little cute for a minute:Im outta here:This green strap is far more interesting than your boring black camera:This is James, pre-paddy:Nope, not playing:I am really fed up now Kirsty - get lost!I wouldn't have wanted them any other way.
They are perfect.

The craft robo is going to die

because I cannot work it.
Well I can cut letters our (whoppee doooooo).
I downloaded inkscape fairly easily and drew some rather fabulous shapes in preparation for cutting. It saves as a .svg file but my robo doesn't recognise those little bleeders.
What the hell am I doing wrong?
I go to Graphtec to supposedly update the software but oh no - you can't do that anymore. Ive got an older version of the robo - typically!
Ive trawled 3 million posts on UKS and I still can't find what Im looking for.
For the love of God will someone please advise me what to do without me having to shell 4.2 million pounds for the priv.
Id trade fairly, of course ;)

**coming soon: 101 ways to batter your Craft Robo to death.

In a slump

This morning I was not firing on all cylinders.

I think Im catching a cold as my throat is on fire and I really tired.

Mark has gone out for the day, geocaching and Im left with the pooch, a list as long as my arm for things to do and absolutely no motivation to do it. You could say that my mojo has done a bunk and the will to live is weak.

So in trots this little guy and he invites me outside to play. And I kneel down on the patio with him to soak up the good stuff and revive my soul. And I just wonder if that guys knows something. Like he just knows I needed that little bit of sunshine. Impish he maybe but a real companionship is what I feel from him most. He is sat at my feet as I type this little post and Ive a spring in my step. **I actually have a notion to pick up the herma**

I don't care what people say about people and their pets because I know this is true: they are life savers and little friends who do the smallest of things to make the hugest of difference. And I love this quotation which is fitting: A friend is someone who will help you move. A real friend is someone who will help you move your body.

I have such gratitude to Maz who helps me see things in such positive if not moving lights. her love of quotes is rubbing off on me. Thanks Maz.

A day in Oswaldtwistle

Yes - its a real name for a place.....just like Cinnamon Brow and Wetwang (lest we add Bitchfield and Shitterton.... yes, real name places in the UK!).

Esther, myself and Edward (the pooch) took a trip to Dawns Studio to catch up and also meet up with Paula Pascual - who was teaching at the studio. I fell in love with Paula's work a long time ago and getting to meet her was such a lovely experience. She is the worlds tiniest lady and I could have just picked her up and put her in my pocket to take home with me. She is smaller than Maria Grace and even Rhonna Farrer. Its quite clear that the most talented of people are dinky.
Dawn and JJ also wanted to meet our handsome chap so I brought him out to play. He behaved so well in the shop and didn't eat anything he ought not to have. He was toileted to a high standard - so no accidents occurred in the studio. Boy was he pampered! Dawn runs a fantastic workshop studio and her shop is packed to the rafters with every conceivable need for the card maker and scrapper. I just can't help but drool over all of her new supplies including Cosmo Cricket papers. She works so hard into making the shop an outstanding success. She even finished work at 6pm tonight (on a sunday!!!). Im generally snoozing on the sofa after a roast dinner at that time so there is no denying that she works incredibly hard.

Dawn and JJ kindly invited us back to their lovely home for some tea and Eddy got to meet their 3 very inquisitive pooches. Arnold is a German Shepherd who would probably eat the likes of Eddy for a snack. Charlie just wanted to lick eddy to death and then there was sweet Lucy. She is a westy and at first Eddy and she scrapped for a while. But then next. OMG. Yikes. Well, you know. All I can say is that Eddy left our house a boy and came back a man! This dog is flippin bonkers and decided - in his infinite wisdom (and without prior consent) to date dawns dog and blatantly go the whole hog (without shame, I may add) in front of the entire house. then to add insult to injury he did a terrific delivery of emptying his bladder and bowels over Dawns pristine rugs. The shame is beyond a joke and I shall never live it down that my doggy is a little sod.
I offered to take some picture of Paula who is, without doubt, the most photogenic person I have ever had the privilege of shooting. Isn't she stunning?
Esther and I came home after a fantastic day out just being in the company of people who are so kind and generous. Eddy was suitably grinning from ear to ear, I was dying from toileting disasters and Esther has a bankful of memories to throw at me when I need to be brought back down to earth again!
Thank you - you guys. It was a perfect ending to a lovely weekend (except when a branch of a tree smashed through Dawns windscreen as we left to go home... have you had horrendous wind at your end?!!!!!)

Catching up with old freinds

Ive spent the most lovely afternoon with Sarah (from Sarahs Cards - oh you wont believe the stuff she is selling in her shop right now - "D ring" American Crafts Cordouroy 8.5x11 Albums for starters!), Roz, Fruity Sue and their friends Janet and Clare. We met up at a very gorgeous rendezvous to catch up but more importantly to enjoy each others company. Having done what we had to do we piled back to Sarahs shop to spend our pocket money on essential scrap supplies and then Sue came back to ours to play and eat.
I have known Suzanne for about 5 years through UKS and Im always happy to see her. Today was heavenly having spent time with her amongst Roz who I do not get to see that often. Oh we did have a giggle or two and Im always enthused to be in her company. It was also the first time I had clapped eyes on Sarahs twins today, too. Those little angels make me feel so gooey and clucky. I loved them instantly and decided to offer Sarah a gift of taking their photos next Tuesday. They are not identical and each child is a mini-me of their parent. James is the spit of his Pop and Amelia is the exact clone of her momma. Utterly adorable in every single way.

And lastly I am besides myself with glee because I was invited to take part on Bubbly Funk's DT by Caroline, the owner. Its such a buzz to be asked to do something or work with other DT's. The main role is to be working with her most amazing collection of chipboard and I do not think anyone could have turned down this super duper opportunity. It makes me feel a little bit fuzzy having such good luck with scrap booking recently! Thank you Caroline xx

I have to go to bed, my day has been spent in the best company with perhaps a soupcon too much Pecan Pie. Ive got another lovely afternoon planned at Dawns Studio (and I am going to meet the most adorable Paula Pascual) but that can't top spending the morning with my gang as we take a trip to Pets at Home (at last, a shop you can take your doggy in whilst belle roams around adoring all the animals).

I lubs happy weekends - is yours happy?

Isnt she lovely?

I gots a local scrap buddy, Esther and she only lives, like, two coughs and a whistle away.

Well, if you know Warrington, you know its about 15 roundabouts away but you catch my drift, don't you?

I offered to take some pictures of her for her portfolio (she is starting to do mag work and judging by her work, quite deservedly too) and these are three of my faves.

Her eyes are lit with bubbliness and Im glad we are local enough to meet up again for another afternoon of scrapsvilles.

Its been smashing weather here today but sadly all of us are suffering immensely with hayfever tonight. That spells that a planned night out in the garden for tea has had the kibosh put on it. So we watch, with envy, as Eddy goes out in the garden on his own suffering from our lack of interaction because we are too busy wiping our noses. All we can do is look forward to about 9pm tonight when all the pollen has fallen to the ground again. It's staying light here until 1030pm, so that darn pollen can jolly well get stuffed if it thinks its ruining our summer. So ner!

Run ragged

Meet the cutest, most beautiful little boy this side of Wigan.

His name is Harry.

You must not be sucked into those baby blues because behind those innocent looking eyes is a mad man on the leash! Boy, did he have me chasing his tail this morning on a little shoot with his lovely Mum Sharon and cool, calm Dad Carl. If I didn't find it so funny, I think I'd actually sit down and poke my eyes out with my wacom pen tool. But, seriously, this kid is made for catalogues. I just want to eat him all up!

This is a candid shot but I love it... it sums up how "not interested" he was today. Love his hat!

Harry and Dad.....

I have a million shot sof Harry being THIS cheeky. Love, Love, Love......

Rare moments of tenderness.....

the gang together.........

And to finish - Harry being just, well......... HARRY!

Sharon, I want to thank you for allowing him to shake off my "doldrum" of a morning with allowing me to take pictures of your handsome little boy. I really enjoyed myself and if I didn't have a mortgage to pay, Id do shoots like this for free every single waking moment of my life! And you know, its really funny but Sharon contacted our local papers the time we announced raising money for belle and then strangely, this afternoon, I got a call form the local papers because Belle has been nominated for Wigan Children of Courage awards in light of all that fussin' (sniff sniff).

Stuff goin' on

Flamin nora, its all or nothing with me in this house.

At the moment its mainly "all".

Ive just finished a paper collection for DO, one for Rainbow Disks and am about to start on some for Aceville. Ive a kit to devour, a project to finish, some cards to whip up, a shoot in the morning and I might fit in a cup of tea there somewhere.

I love it in some sadistic kind of fashion and whilst my lil girl was out and about on a treat night out with school (for good attendance, which when you come to think is not bad considering she goes to hospital 5 billion times a year), I got lots whipped up and shipped out. I might even have to admit that I lost my mojo for 2 hours in all of that but I found it hiding in a ditch off the A49 on the way to Wigan. Little bugger. That mojo will be the death of me.

And so will Eddy.

He is still eating everything.

We bought him some new toys today as he had ragged the others to death and then he ragged a new one to its fibrous grave this afternoon. We dragged his Kong out of hiding to try and entertain him but he has a real dislike for rubber toys. Instead he likes ragging the carpet, the sofa, marks trainers and any loose paper on my craft room floor. I think he might just have got the message tonight when he spwavved all over the hallway; upchucking threads, leaves, paper and other random household items. I can't help but laugh to be honest but then again if I didn't, Id only cry. We are giving him whole carrots to counteract the teething which is a much healthier, less expensive thing to chew on although I might be tempted to offer him a free run of Marks wardrobe - just for kicks and giggles. Mwahahahahahahhaa

New food

I know it was our wedding anniversary today and the night ought to have been just about mark and I. However, we just LOVE to include Belle in everything we do and its highly unfair leaving her locked up in the attic whilst we dilly and dally around the neighbourhoods finest restaurants whilst she dines on spiders and mouse poo.

So mark and I order antipasti and bruschetta for starters. Belle doesnt fancy anything to start with. She was enjoying an ice cold diet coke. Then our starters arrive. Bloody fabulous if you ask me with a selection of little italian delicacies on a fancy oblong plate.

So Belle takes a peek and she spies the parma ham and asks to try it. This is a kid of routine and familiarity so we were like, erm...yeah, ok! Thinking she is going to spwav that everywhere. **Spwav is a word my sister and I use. Its a cool word, we may even let you copy it!. This is also the kid that eats pasta and chicken every day at the school canteen. She rarely goes beyond her normality's.** So anyway, the parma ham was a real small piece but she wolfed it all down in seconds. And there was nothing else left on our plates that we could offer that she would like. Tuna - Nope.

Prawns in marie sauce - Nope.

Beans - Nope.

Mozzarella - Nope.

Bruschetta - No way matey.

Having enjoyed the sheer delight of her enjoying that ham, I asked the waiter if we could order some extra for her and within moments he had placed 3 rolls of it on a plate. Well, all our christmasses came at once as she tucked into those little rolls of (v expensive) ham. Oh don't you just love high iso, dark rooms and camera shake?!!

Forget the fact that we were celebratin' 13 years of marriage cos this little lady was the highlight of our night. Except, judging by the photo, this little moment before we went home.

We arrived home to one very excited pooch. It was the first time he had been left alone in the house ever since we bought him. He was well behaved despite having earlier eaten almost all his toys to their rubbery deaths (he is well teething!).

So now tell me. Which supermarket has Parma ham on special this week?

Getting intimate with CD

This girl - THIS GIRL is FABULOUS!
(The girl on the left is fabulous - Im not referring to me!)
This is all this girl needs on her travels - a bucket with all her coolest essentials, even the bucket reads "simplfy".
That's inpiring.

Being with this girl is like going to the top of a hill in the countryside and inhaling the purest of air. Although the top of that hill was actually in a snug little house in Chepstow for an intimate class with 7 delightful girls and be gorged with AMAZING techniques by CK's 2006 Scrapbooker of the year - CD Muckosky. I took one of her classes in March and thought I'd hit the jackpot then. But now? Sheesh Kebab!

So who is CD? Well she is she is graceful. She is spiritual. She is calm. She is gorgeous.
And most of all she is generous with her commitment to sharing her uberliscious talent. I can't explain how honoured I was to be with her and my friends Lousie, Maz, Pam, Carol, Dawn, Robyn and Alison. The weather was perfect for a spot of afternoon lunch outside (my fave way of eating).The ambiance was just perfect - I dont think anything could have upset the balance and the mood was pure thrilling excitement. The class was to make up a 20 page album (complete with album - a swish corduroy number) using sketches and journalling tips plus a numerous amount of techniques. Im not sure my pages look anything like what I was supposed to be following but I certainly incorporated the techniques to the MAX. I managed 3 pages throughout the day but I will be finishing off the next 17 in no time as I am totally geared up. As the day sped by so quick, I am trying so hard to reflect on it but seriously - that young lady has me all fired up.
I think I need to calm down a bit and let the child in me settle. I have a few sneaks of what I made but will save the full reveal for when I have made the album complete. The collection of photos are based on "The most brilliant moments of my life ..........so far" and include photos I have scrapped before plus new ones. I simply cannot wait to sit on my cloud in heaven and watch my future generations paw over and love that book as I much as I do.
Im that stoked that I just can't concentrate. It's our wedding anniversary today and my focus should be on snogging with hubby. But he is faffing with his new all-singing-and-dancing GPS (anniv pressy) and Im catching up on lots of jobs as I was out working Sunday at Windmill Crafts then out at 5.30am yest for Chepstow. However, we are all going out for a meal tonight at this snug little Italian gastro pub in Billinge we found last week, so snuggling is what we will do then! Other than that, Im still wanting to paint everything I see - even my keyboard. How dull my house looks in comparison to what I learned from CD. I want to purge and decorate and be simplified and be colourful!

Come back soon CD and thank you so, so much xx

Have you been casing this joint, too?

Soz, but one had to disable this little blighter for fumigation purposes for a few hours last night - to rid me of some pesky bugs that will, inevitably, come back ten fold. Yawn.

So, anyway, my dog.

Have I told you about my dog?

Surely not? Hee heee.

Well look what he did yesterday.

That along with some Ki Lace papers, half a cardboard box, Ellies trainers and the lead to Marks sat nav. Thankfully my shoes took the brunt and I think I can repair them. Still love him even though he has an appetite for destruction.

Had a few moments to make this little card last night using papers I bought from Papermaze.Granted, the flowery paper was in the reduced (who can resist a bargain?) section of the website and I tagged it on to an order of Autumn Leaves Designing with Details. Its a gorgeous book, I have to say. I also bought 4 pads of K&Co push outs from Capture the Magic this week. And the last of my little spree was spent at Paperarts with a little book on clear stamping along with THIS find of the century. Its a Fiskars edging punch which makes this pattern:

I have been dying to lay my hands on one for WEEKS but I haven't seen a sole stock it. So now its in my possession and I will love it forever. I haven't bought anything online for scrapping in the longest time so coming back to my favourite shops was like meeting old friends again. The service with the shops is beyond faultless, Im a very happy customer.

That's all folks - oh, unless you are at Windmill Crafts tomorrow (Thornton, near Blackpool) come and say hello as I demo Doodlebug, Basic Grey and We R Memory Keepers between 10 and 4.

Trying to be Mrs Serious teacher

I teach one to one photography on DSLR camera's (or even in very small groups if you are keen!). You can bet your bottom dollar that we will have a good old belly laugh. Learning, after all, is meant to be fun.

Cue Clare Curd armed with her trusty Canon and you know mischief is on the cards. I thought Id be in for a real drama but she actually took to it really quick. That meant lots of time practising and perfecting and even better - lunch out. There is nothing to dislike about her other than she makes scrumpsh cards and has a real flair for it. Additional to the photography side of the one day course I also taught her a few nifty tricks on Elements and by heck, that girl has diginess in her bones. I didn't know where to hide my shame.

This one of her most brilliant efforts. For a novice photog, she did a super duper job. Not only did she make me look less than my, ahem, 37 years (ssshhhhh!) but she also got a fabulous crop on it too. I really like it - thanks Clare!

Clare arrived last night (hence my secret visitor, I couldn't announce it just in case Sheila read it!)and as a surprise to her bezzy friend, Sheila, we pitched up at her weds night craft club in Leigh. I love this club! Its chock a block full of nifty card makers, I can't believe how inviting the company is there. Sheila was taken aback to see her buddy (who had travelled 2 hours to get here!) Oh we did have fun at the club and I won the raffle too. I was barely productive on the night because I was too busy gassing, as ever.

I wanted to share the magic that is Clare Curd-burglar. I hope you can feel that infectious energy through your screen too.

Out and about I spied my fave ever wild plant... the ever wondrous (if not poisonous) Fox Glove (Digitalis, see Maz - Im almost cultured!). I just love these little belle shaped blooms and couldn't resist using my new camera on it. The feedback I'm getting on that camera is worth its weight in gold. Even when I cropped the photo on the pc, the quality is still sharp and I didn't even shoot in RAW (I hardly ever shoot in RAW, its a waste of time on days like this).

As Clare spilled her images on to my PC, I noticed this she took of me a few weeks back. It does make my heart skip a few beats, I tell you! I love Ewan Macgregor. He is flipping gorge. I miss him (!!). I loved the advertisement which is half covered by my slobbering head. Perfect for father's ...............ooooh, I should say!

I need a cold shower, Toodle oooooooo xx

Been makin'

Other than making DVD's for wedding albums and a bit of Wii fit (er, do not be fooled by that programme....it is brutal if not knackering. Proof of that is that my BMI has gone down, not to say a 1lb or two, too!) I have been making a layout with these GORGEOUS America Craft papers. Its a while since I just dug into my personal stash supply and got cracking.

I also made a few cards with some leftovers and then dug out these two books here. One is complete and made from stitching the whole thing together(including the tab fixing) and the other is waiting for this summers snaps to adorn it.
Either way, its been a productive day. And the poochmeister is racing around the house like billy-o, so he has kept me well on my toes. All that PLUS Ive just finished polishing the chandeliers for my secret visitor tonight. All I can say is that its going to more productive in this office this evening than it has been all year. I have olives, hummus and choc dipped strawbs on standby, a chilli being cooked by hubs for her arrival and enough herma to glue an Army.

Let the battle of scissors commence.

If nowt else, get pet insurance

Im glad we did, this little monkey has cost us almost £200 in a week! Thankfully we only have to pay a small excess. The poor wee mite had an x-ray, bloods and throat inspection plus a days stay at the vet for observation. It turns out he has a swollen trachea which is creating the cough but the vet has sent his blood away for testing just in case its a little more sinister.

I can't begin to describe how I felt when I saw him again this afternoon. Mark and I collected him as his tail wagged furiously at our reunion. We then went to collect belle from her after-school-club. You will NEVER EVER guess what on earth that girl has begged us to do for her after school club. You just would never guess in a bajillion years.

This kid has taken up boxing. We think partly because her friend Chiarra has joined but we also believe Belle want to be able to tackle bullies. Its not that I condone that boxing is a way to deal with said "bullies". I do try and instill that ignorance is sometimes bliss. But mentally its Belles way of feeling stronger and she has a real good giggle whilst she is there. Plus she has learned some swift moves (albeit not boxing pro standard, ya hear!).

We all made such a fuss of the poochmeister when we got home and it wasn't long before he was ragging his toys all over the kitchen and practicing his lovemaking on his bed cushion - which was such a pleasant sight. Not. I'm pretty sure that getting a boy dog was not such a cool move in that department. But Mark reckons getting another "man" in the house offers an equilibrium but seriously, public displays of major dog/cushion affection is not my idea of pet entertainment.

I mean if he is up to doing that, he can't be that ill.........can he?!!!!

In aid of spreading the love of the Pooch, Ive got this for those who keep asking. She is called "Paws for Thought"

and you can get the little monkey HERE

Oh No

Pooch went to the vets this morning (he still has a gruffly chest from last week - even after a course of Anti-bi's and a jab) and they are keeping him in for an x-ray and throat inspection.

I know it sounds daft but its horrible sat here in my office with no little dude wrapped around my feet.
Mark has no buddy to play with in the garden this morning.
The things we do for our pets, ey?

We pick him up later this avvo....fingers crossed.

Poochy Love

Eddy is growing at a fast rate of knots.
He is a canine hoover and is increasingly slurping up his Eukanube kibbles (mixed with scrambled egg for breaky or mixed with ham/meat tidbits for tea). He gets regular walks and lots of play..... I cannot believe how fast he is turning into that classic looking sausage dog. We gave him his first bath last night and he was so good. Obv was not going to tempt fete and have my camera ruined at the said event... I mean I do like to grab as much memories as possible but that was a no-go-show. So now he is all soft and fluffsters again and smelling of Johnsons baby best. Belle is slowly coming around to his puppy ways but I think they will get along much better when he clags onto the fact that she isn't as giddy as Mark and I. So although they are little buddies, they are not best freinds yet.

Belle spent most of the weekend at her friend Beth's house and as a result of an empty friday night, we took this chap up to Pennington Flash for a much deserved sniff around. I don't have that many pics of Ed and I as Mark just never uses his noggin to offer taking a picture. Well you can imagine how much I love this picture because I never asked for it to be taken.....I love this little boy. Obv coming to a scrapbook page near us in the future.

We took delivery of a very rare sighting today. Mark has tried for WEEKS to lay his mitts a Wii Fit and in the end we resorted to ordering one from Germany. The price penalty difference was only £5, so it was worth the agony. Naturally I am not going to relay the Wii's impressions of my BMI (it is not brilliant) but during the course of the evening Im going to improve on my rubbish slalom skills. Mark went a little bonkers on the hula hoops and Elllie rocked the Ski Jumps. What's so good about this is that we have fun watching each other and when sitting behind Mark on the Hula Hoops, well - its a sight to behold!!!!

Been working on some bits for Crafts Beautiful and have a sneak of a few projects. Additionally I have been working on some bits for their Sister mag, Lets make Cards. Its fun going back to basics, card making and other non-scrapbooking work. Although, to be fair - scrapbooking is what I loves most.
Here is a homemade Cd cover I made for Jo Seymours shoot. Using Basic Greys Sugared range of goodies and some doodlebug ribbon, I rather went to town on spoiling my sweet friend.
Here is the front of the cover:
Here is the back:
And the decorated Cd too:
Finally I snapped this fun pic of my niece last night. She was laying into that trampoline alright. She was obviously showing me that she can bounce to the sky. Even my Belle had a go (and believe me, that little girl tried her hardest but does suffer as she has virtually no recoil in her muscles therfore she "jumps" with her knees straight.... ouch) .We sat outside for our tea (wasn't it scorchio yesterday?). And although we enjoyed yummy "winter" food of homemade Chicken and mushroom pie with Rhubarb crumble to follow - you just can't beat a BBQ and Salad outdoors on a hot evening. Wishing we had one instead I think the coals are being stoked for tonight as its another blinding day at the Wiseman residence.

Book of scraps

Whenever I open my box from Studio Calico, I literally squeal.
Everything is so co-ordinated and thoughtfully put together - as if I had commanded a lil genie to grant my wishes.
When I have made sufficient projects from the kit, I place the left overs in its own personal cubby hole. I use the left overs on future kits or I leave them there to glorify in their own beauty.
It got to the stage where I had a ton of left overs so in February I started making a mini book using all my bits and bobs from the SC kit to make this book below. Using the plasma book we got in the Dec kit, I decorated each page with as much scrap as I could muster (Id say there is 98% SC stuff and 2% foreign objects). It records 9 of our most favourite things. I mean everyone picks 10 as a rule, but I fancied 9. Just to be a lil quirky/awkward/bonkers.... pick one.
Anyway, after approx 39 hours (on and off) this book is ready to share with you and then it will go on my office shelves as a part of a lil triumph (I don't make mini books that often, although the coffee thingy book from yesterday really was a labour of love in the short term!!).

Suns out - off to go and walk the pooch xx

Little things

This week has seen my cameras take an absolute beating.

I'm particularly fond of the results I'm achieving from my latest baby. A couple of weeks back I upgraded my Fuji S7000 for a second hand Nikon D2x. I got a very good deal (and I mean - VERY GOOD.... almost feels like I got it for free) on it from a Pro down in Bristol. He hasn't had it that long before he upgraded to a D3. To be honest, £3000 for a new D3 is not something I have got or am willing to fork out for. So I'll plum for the second hand option any day! So now I can turn up on shoots with a D70, D200 and a D2x - each with a different lens so that every moment can be caught without faffing and changing them accordingly. Each camera has its own secret beauty and just because one is more expensive than the other doesn't mean you have to compromise on the finished result.

The D70 I bought off ebay (second hand) a year ago and I love its WB - its way better than my D200 and even the D80 (which superseded the D70 some two years ago). The D200 just handles so well and is meant to be snuggled up with my 2870mm lens - I never struggle with it. However the monster of all events can be tackled effortlessly with the D2x and if you slam on the 85mm f1.8 or the 50mm F1.4........ you have faultless results. I think the metering needs to be mastered but I'm managing quite well compared to the D200. So I urge to you seek out all of these on ebay as a second hand purchase. If you pay by paypal you have some insurance against your purchase and then all you have to do is go out and play!

Anyway ........Ive emptied all the memory cards from the past 2 weeks and found these lil jewels that I meant to share earlier this week. Below is a project that I made for the kids at my weds night craft club. I used my favvo Blondest of Moments papers (they used Chatterbox Attic papers) to make this gift bag which I can't bare to part with so its going on display in my office. I got the template here and its dead useful using A4 sized cardstock, a few ribbons and a bit of whatever-takes-your-gad-darn-fancy!

The project below is my home made CD cover made from two piece of 5.5x5.5 inch card stock. Simply adhere a thin strip of double sided tape on the bottom two pieces whilst the ribbon helps keep the Cd in place, inside. Its gone totally crazy with photoshoots at this end of your computer screen and this is how I like to present my cd's... which keeps me twiddling my fingers with creative action.

And last out of my memory cards is this book here is made from Starbucks cup thingies. You know what I mean - the little sleeves you put around your Starbucks to prevent your hands getting burned. Coffee thingies is what they shall be called - arise, Sir Coffee Thingies!. At the Holiday Inn hotels we stayed at (on the roadshows over the past few weeks) served Starbucks as part of their hospitality. I'm off coffee right now but I obliged in the coffee thingies to make this book. Simply slit one side and you have a 2 page thingy. I used 3 3 of them to adorn with BG, Papermania and Doodlebug yummies along with WR Memory Keepers Gromlets and Snaps.

Oooh and look at these lil treats we have been slurping over at Wiseman Manor. Strawbs dipped in melted Butterscotch Green & Blacks then sprinkled with wheat free grenola bars.I mentioned that I had cut out wheat before I went to the US and my weight and bloatedness slipped away nicely. But then whilst in the US I ate all the bad (but tasty!) stuff and since then have ballooned to the size of a small country in Bulgaria. Now its time to ditch the nasty white starchy stuff again (think delish white bread and durum wheat pasta) and in comes granola bars amongst rice cakes and wheat free pitta's.

Deep joy to waving goodbye to the dreaded wheat :( sniff sniff.

New Mag

Lots of lovely new layout ideas and articles, reviews and interviews are all contained in one, neat ad-free mag in juicy colours you will adore. Im so excited to be a part of Creativity Life from the DO company that warrants BG, Doodlebug, W R Memory Keepers, Clearsnap and Core'dinations entries to the max. With a potential readership of 200,00 do keep an eye for it in your local craft shop.

At the same time the mag is launching "The Apprentice" with a chance to win a place on the DT and a prize of working with the most spangliest of scrap supplies (as mentioned above). Earn almost "one of everything" from each range and turn your artistic skills into a job here at Creativity Life. 12 lucky contestants will fight (for fun, o'course) for the top spot of DT'ing with myself, Becki Dreyer (this features cover girl layout!), Amber-Jane Harrop, Marieke and Katy Godbeer plus a whole host of extra grovacious scrappers in this quarterly mag. At £2.50 a snip its not going to burst the bank but instead it will advise your brain bank with 71 fresh page ideas to help kick start that creative flow if your mojo has gone walkies.

Talking of which - Eddy needs a run around the block..

My friend Lousie.....

has two great, no - strike that.....two fabulous kids.

I often take photos whilst stopping over at her house in Chepstow, which I did over the weekend whilst on my shoots in Worcestershire.

**By the way - I meant to spell Louise as "Lousie" because its how I type my middle name in a hurry. The amount of CV's and such like paraphernalia ends up with a Lousie on there...... funny!**. So with that I call her Lousie which is far from what she really is! Did I really need to explain that?

I spent Friday night with Lousie and Maz along with their husbands at a quaint lil pub just over the border from Wales. Maz'z hubs plays the drums a fab band that plays a lot of rock classics - that guy can play the drums, alright!. As for us? We were, of course, the groupies. It felt so good to be out in a country pub with fantastic food, great music and best of all no smoking. Im not opposed to it entirely but I just hate coming in stinking of it. And as the no smoking ban came into light only last year, you can tell how long its been since Ive been on a night out in a pub!

So anyway - the kids.

Here they are striking up a number of natural poses between breaks on Britain's Got Talent. Katy is ultra sweet and charming.....she always has me in fits although these pictures show her more gentle side.

This is Olli - he is growing into such a handsome guy. And I believe he has a girlfriend now so I guess he is going to get one of these pictures for her pencil case ;).The two of these get on really well and I can't share the out-takes, i think olli might kill me for ruining his street cred but they are really such fun together. Thats what I like most when I meet families.....FUN.

And finally this is Maeve - Katy's BFF (what do we put up with these days espesh when you are only accepted in teen society if you only use abbreviations!). What a cool name though, it almost makes me want to have another baby girl just so that I can call her Maeve. Ultra pretty girl is she.

And that is your lot.

Oh - I meant to mention this but this ultra brilliant digi girl, Cyndo from Wetfish designs is selling these kits which is being split between two fund raisers. Now, this was organised a long time ago but has only come into fruition. I LOVE THESE COLOURS. Thank you so much Cyndi, you did an acevilles job xxIf you love this digi kit, do go and support it over here

Skinny Ma-linky

I went to shoot this family on Sunday.

Anyone recognise this woman? (Rudishoes on UKS, plain old delightful Jo Seymour to all her pals.)

Doesn't she look AMAZING?

Jo has been eating sensibly for about a year now and has managed to shed some serious poundage and I think she looks fantastic. Not only that but she has got the most adorable two girls and she also has Ed, her hubs - who is such a nice guy to talk to too.

We took a little trip to a nearby orchard and rapeseed field and had all the backdrops we needed.

Hayfever is not a good thing to have on shoots like this but you kind of forget it when your efforts turn out as magical as these.

This is little "A" - she is such a darling. Ive watched this lady grow up over the last 3 years and I love how impish she looks with short hair. This girl has a a wonderful sense of humour.

Sweet "F" has a very gentle beauty that any camera would love. This is my fave shot of the whole shoot of her.The tribe travel in a tight pack ... I think Jo loves this shot.So Im hating blogspot for compacting my photos so tight as this one below. Rapeseed fields are a great photo opportunity but sadly they are not as fruitful as the one at my mothers last week. However, at this angle the field looked so beautiful and we championed the spot well.And there is always time for a giggle or two!

Ive decided not to over saturate the finish on photos for a while now because I hate the white's looking so blown out at times (often the result of too much editing and not exposure!). I get a LOT of emails asking me how I edit my photographs and the answer is this.

Keep it simple. If you don't you will end up with distortion, grain and dreadful radiation flare.

I always underexpose a photo to prevent white out but that also allows for sensible developing - rather like dark room techniques still used by film photographers today. So believe me, the edits on these latest photos have only had a slight twist on the levels with a little dodge and burn. That is all you need to do especially if you have a decent lens (in all these photos I used my beloved 28-70mm although I am quite partial to my 50mm f1.4 but i use that when its low light). However do no become despondent about using the odd mad style of editing because the good old PS action can work wonders for those who need a little arty finish :)

Its been a busy old day today. i cant believe how many emails and phone calls I have made to catch up on. It feels such a huge relief. I also put a few finishing touches on some projects for me - YES, ME! I do do them you know, I'm not constantly doing stuff for mags, DO, shops and classes. You really ought not to believe everything you read ;). I made a wee card out of some scraps and although its very simple, goes to show what you can do with a piece of 4x1.5 inch piece of paper on a 4x4 card!

Getting stuff cleared out of the way meant that I could go and do a food shop that turned into a marathon bonding session with belle and I. Ive been away for 12 days (on and off, not straight through). It was at this point we talked about her 13th birthday in Nov. Thirteen really freaks me out - it sounds so grown up. She has decided she wants a limo ride to the cinema with friends and then good old frankie and benny's for a meal afterwards. I offered her the chance to go to Paris but she wasn't that fussy over it. That girl makes no demands on our life... I sometimes envy her simple demands!

Finally, got to snap this pic of the old man and his dog. These two are just inseparable, in fact we fight over who gets to pet him but Mark wins the contest but that's hardly surprising as Ive been away from home recently. Eddy is fighting a chest infection that required a jab, some medication and a bill for £38 that we didn't budget for - gah! But he is our lil baby and if that's what it takes, then thats what we must do.

Oh we do love him xx

Just a perfect day

Ive never met Jo before.
She booked me to take pictures of her wedding through the medium of scrapbooking.
And I guess my photography ;)
I didn't know until I left the wedding how honoured I am that I was asked.
I just didn't want the day to end for me let alone them!
So before I share some of the pictures I just want to tell you all this.
Jo and John's wedding?
It was perfect.
It was drenched with happiness and love - the service, the family, the couple and their beautiful children had me in tears.
I just couldn't help myself.
You just can't buy that type of emotion - happiness through tears is absolutely priceless.
I know it wont be a day they will forget but for me, it was the most magical day I have ever spent with complete strangers whom not only let me into their day but also their hearts.
I even sat through their reception and listened to family and friends chat and laugh. Their wedding was simple with a golden lining encasing the true meaning of the day - which was love.
You guys are just fabulous.
Oh lord, pass me another bloody tissue!
**ooops, used last years watermark on all these photo......I'm such a dumbledore!!**

I have never photographed a wedding where the vicar allowed shots to be taken during the ceremony (usually you are only allowed during the signing of the register). So I was able to get these lovely shots of the happy couple in floods of tears. The vicar read out a wonderful sermon about love and there was not a dry eye in the house. Even I was blubbing. Lord help me! This is a photo op I couldnt miss - cos I feature in the photo! Look close........
Lovely Jo and I... for our scrapbooks of course!Sigh, just gorgeous memories of a special day in Worcester.