Jungle parc ...

.. I'm just back from a lovely week in a cottage in Somerset. Had such a lovely relaxing time and as we were close to East Devon and West Dorset we got to the beach a few times, something I really miss where we live!

I meant to post this whilst we were away but being in the middle of the countryside meant that the internet wasn't that good. Anyway it was for Shimelle's sketch of the week last week.

Learn Something New Every Day started yesterday so I shall start catching up with my pages later or tomorrow. Luckily I got my supplies together before I left so hopefully it won't be long before I get up to date.

Right, the washing machine is calling!

Explore: Closing notes ...

... the last week of prompts was very much about goal setting, tracking your goals and thinking of the future.

I am currently trying to lose the bit of weight I have put on since getting to my goal weight 2 years ago. I lost 3 stone that year and so am determined not to let it pile back on. However I wish that I could get to the point where weight management was part of my subconscious not a daily grind.

I remember when I realised I needed to lose weight in 2009. My friend had started going to Weight Watchers and I didn't think she looked anymore than a size 12, so I thought I'd better get myself there (I was a size 18). Clothes were getting tighter and I didn't like how I looked in photos. It was one of my best decisions ever to go, I would never have managed it without the support I had.

This is one of the very few photos I have from then. I hadn't realised my face was so chubby!

I have made a few more pages in my playbook noting all of this. There are a few prompts and techniques that I will come back to, but for now I feel pleased that for the first time in a long while I have completed a class!!

Kit stripping

... I don't usually strip a kit down until I've used at least 50% of it, probably more like 60-70%. And so all the bits and pieces sit together in a clear bag in drawers on my Expedit shelves. However that has meant that I've been missing out on using stuff on other LOs and so today I took to stripping them all out. And this was the resulting pile! All that's left in the bags is the patterned paper which I'll need to also sort out.

Where am I going to put it all? And how to organise it? I have alphas, stickers and ephemera stored in RUBS, but there's not enough space for this lot!

Wish me luck!

And finally ...

... this is the last of my challenge entries for last weekend's crop- to scrap with a grid of photos. Shimelle also posted some further challenges during the course of week and one of those was to scrap within a 7x7" box. So I've combined the two (hope that was alright!)

The current Scrapbook Circle challenge is to remember Summer (well it does seem to be pretty much over here!!) I've combined various ideas from the LO Gallery for this one.

Scrapping in threes ...

... I'm still working on the challenges from Shimelle's online crop last weekend. This one was to include a group of three in an embellishment. So I've done three lots of embellishments each with 2 circles and a brad.



It's photographed a bit weird, I think it's because one edge has curled up from the misting.



And speaking of mists I have always struggled with these but bought some non-glimmer ones from Art From the Heart and they work much better for me. So expect to see more misting in the future.

Explore: a goal for the week ...

... to lose 2 pounds and exercise 3 times.

Not sure what's going on with my boobs here!

Explore: Colour ...

... I've scooted through the Week 3 prompts to ensure I keep on top of the class, but I'm OK with that, I've got 4 pages in my playbook and the LO I did last week. On to Week 4!

Half page and signature accent ...

... fortunately challenges don't need to be completed until 21st August so it means that I can carry on with them this week (although I want to get Explore finished before Learn Something New Everyday starts on Sept 1st).

This one was to only fill half the page. I'm quite comfortable with this sort of LO rarely filling a whole page and decided to scraplift Shimelle's page.

I can't remember the last time I used flowers like this on a page, but they reminded me of water lilies!

The next was to scrap with your signature accent - I would say mine was white space, butterflies and a little embellishment cluster at the top of a page. So here's mine, again using a similiar design to the above.

Colour challenge and I love ...

... here's today's efforts. The first was a red, white and aqua colour challenge and I've used this PencilLines sketch.

The next was to use 'I Love' or 'I Heart' as the title and I decided to do things I love right now. I like doing these LOs every now again to capture a snapshot in time. I was inspired by Diane Payne's LO on the Scrpabook Circle Ideas Gallery.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend and making the most of the tiny bit of sunshine we're having!!

A starting point and chop your paper ...

... are the next two challenges.

The first to layout your paper in a certain way as a starting point (should have taken a picture of that but you can see Shimelle's here) and then add to it.

The girls had such great fun at this park in Majorca, I'm trying to find one locally in the UK that isn't a minimum age of 10.

The next challenge was to use one or two pieces of paper and cut out elements of it to use as embellishments. This paper was perfect for that:

I think the little list is a good one to life your life by.

Scrapping this weekend ....

... a new batch of photos from Photobox, a new Scrapbook Cirle kit and an online crop with Shimelle - I plan to make the most of that this weekend!

The crop started yesterday and the first challenge was to include some printables designed by Mary Anne Walters - on my LO these include the journalling block and the circles. She designed them to co-ordinate with the My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose range so as I had a few bits of this I used that as my starting block. I've also used the latest Sketchy Thursday sketch.

The next challenge was to use stickers from more than one range. This is the balcony shot that I always take of Steve and the girls when we go to Majorca. It's such a great way of seeing the changes in them. I've used old an old Scarlet Lime kit that I've used for a lot of my previous Majorca LOs. The stickers are all Making Memories and include Passport, The Great Escape and Circle Ledger.

Explore: The meaning of colour ...

... the next prompt had several elements to it, firstly what colours meant to us personally. This is what I came up with:

Black - dark and moody
Red - brave
Orange - youthful
Yellow - sunshine and energy
Green - eco/helping the planet
Blue - a happy day/ the sea and sky
Purple - me!
White - only to be worn by slim and tanned people!

Then we were asked how we use colour when we're scrapbooking:

Which do you choose first: colour or pattern? Colour
How many colours would you typically use in a single project? 3 - 4
Would those colours appear in solids, single-colour patterns (like subtle red on red dot or multi-coloured patterns? Multi-coloured
Do you prefer soft, deep, muted or bright tones of your chosen colours? Muted tones
What colour do you avoid if at all possible? Orange
Do you prefer colour of black and white photographs? Colour
When you work with colour would you classify yourself as brace, predictable or something else? Predictable

There was then the suggestion that we could label our days with a colour. Yesterday was grey with a hint of yellow for me. My moods are very much affected by the weather and I'm very much missing the turquoise sea of the med.

I decided to scrapbook this as part of the Scrapbook Circle challenge to use circles on a LO.

(I made a couple of typos on the typewriter but I'm OK with that!)

Colour: Part 1 ...

... so week 3 is all about colour and the first couple of prompts have already got me thinking about possible LOs.

In the first prompt we were asked what our favourite colour was, that's easy - purple! And here are a few of my most recent acquistions!

I thought I would ask my Facebook friends what colour they associate with me and interestingly a few said turquoise. Now this isn't a colour that appears very often in my life - in clothes or homeware for example but before I asked the question I had already pulled out this photo as when asked to 'recall the colours of a beautiful day you remember in happiness' this is what I think of:

Turquoise sea indeed! I can see a canvas featuring purple and turquoise too!

Explore: Create ...

... so this is my creation for the end of Week 2 using one of Shimelle's sketches. I shall probably stick a print out of my 24 hours to the back of the LO.

Explore: 24 hours ...

... yesterday I captured what activities I did and I think I'll do the same when the girls have gone back to school as a contrast. I used Ali Edwards pdf to capture this.

4:00am - 8:30 Sleep
8:30am Wake and get up. Have difficulty deciding on a healthy breakfast.
9:00am Do a few chores
10:00am Crafting on Explore; girls watching Hairspray
11:00am Straighten Mia's hair; Lily drawing; service the girls bikes
Noon Make and eat lunch; put bikes on car and drive to Offchurch Greenway
1:00pm Girls cycled whilst I walked Modbury

2:00pm Stop at the canal to watch the boats go through the lock whilst having a drink and snack

3:00pm Blog hopping
4:00pm Start prepping tea. Drive to Argos to pick up new kitchen scales and to Blockbuster to choose somes videos

5:00pm Home again; finish cooking tea
6:00pm Eat; clean up dishes

7:00pm Wine o'clock; blogging; ordering photos from Photobox
8:00pm Steve home at 8:30pm
9:00pm Put girls to bed; watch TV
10:00pm Go to bed at 10:30pm; read until 11pm
11:00pm - 4:00am Sleep

Breakfast Porridge and Banana
Lunch Soup and toast
Dinner Veggie Chilli and Rice
Other Apple, nectarine, orange, rocky choc bar, glass of Rose wine

Observations
As it's the school holidays and no work there's no structure to the day and I feel at the moment that we're not quite as productive as we could be (although I'm not sure what that should be!!!) We are waking later and the girls are going to bed later. I'm trying to come up with different ways to walk Modbury to interest and include the girls.

The weather is overcast and variable.

Overheard
The usual sister bickering and fighting - sigh!

Favourite Moment
The drawing that Lily made for me.

Gratitude
The freedom to come and go as we please. Safety and security in our enviroment.

10 things - favourite holiday snaps ...

... a glass of wine at the beach cafe

smiles

more smiles

Lily on the high ropes

Mia on the high ropes

pedalo fun

beach fun

some more smiles

the beautiful balcony view from our apartment

the annual balcony photo