This is Me

This layout is a 'just because',  you know just because I fancied doing it.  Simply in design but I like how it turned out.  I used Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy Collection.

Thanks for stopping by.

Adventure Awaits

Hi I'm back again with another travel themed layout, but this time not New York, but planning my trip later this year to Malta.

I did a layout on me on a beach in England, in August 2014 reading a tour guide for New York, the full blogpost can be found here

 so I thought it would be great to do a similar photograph of me doing the same thing a year later but with my Malta tour guide.

The papers I used are from Pink Paislee - Atlas Collection with a few bits and pieces that was laying around on the desk at the time of making this layout.

The large cut file is from The Cut Shoppe - I cut it from white cardstock, and coloured it with Tim Holtz distress ink and outlined the letters with black pen to make them stand out more from the page.

So this will be in my Malta album - yes planning to have a whole album from Malta, and it might even stretch to 2.

Have a good day.

Enjoying the Flight layout

I will just be adding various layouts that I've done over the past few months, mainly from my trip to New York.  I've made a list of all the photos I want to do as a single page, and slowly getting around to doing them, some for the Hey Little Magpie blogpost, others just for me.


Anyway, I purchased this collection - yes more travel themed paper, like I really need more, but eh oh! I got it anyway and love it.  A lovely collection of papers stickers.

Enjoying the Flight.

A simple grid format that works well with my selection of photographs, documenting my champagne experience on our flight to New York.

I hand stitched between the blocks using some twine.

Thanks for stopping by.

All Change for my January 2016 HLM blogpost

I know I'm not the only one to do this, and mange to save the layout without throwing it into the bin in frustration.  So for my HLM January blogpost I decided to use this lovely collection from Basic Grey - Type Set .

For my birthday Julie, had got me a manual typewriter, oh how I love it, not used it yet ! but I've stroked it a few times and took loads of photographs - as you do.  

Anyway, having this paper collection I know I had the perfect papers to document my lovely gift.  I had decided that I would use a couple of smaller photos down one side of the page and set about putting my layout together.

The layout came together relatively quickly, but then it came to the title - something that I sometime struggle with.  And when I'd finished I know I hated the title and the position of it, the saying everything, and everything was 'super' struck down - ahhh !!!

Title says ' Hello my beauty'

So after my initial panic I asked for advice and I got a few replies, saying the title was OK, and then Julie suggested added some more words underneath what I'd put already.  Great I thought, so left it on my desk for a day or two to decide what to do with it - without throwing it away.  

Then I came up with the idea if I work really slowly then I sure I can get the struck down letters off and perhaps in someway cover over the mess.

The chipboard came off easily, but the alpha stickers didn't as you can see - ripping the paper and even leaving the backing of the alpha stickers on the page.

When I first started crafting as a card maker,  the lady teacher, Ann, showed so how to removed glue from your paper with an heat gun  from the back - and it worked, but I was still left with the 'ripped areas'

This collection comes with a sticker sheet and the large one fitted over the 'ripped area' perfectly - I added a large wood veneer from my stash, some mini alphas from Jillibean Soup and the lovely Thickers from a Dear Lizzy Collection.

And my page was saved.

Here are a few close ups 

The collection also had some lovely flair badges.

The full blogpost can be found here.

I was so glad I was able to save it as I was running out of time for it to be uploaded.

I'll be back soon

2015 Re-Cap - Part 3

Right last blogpost for my general 2015 re-cap, I will be adding some of the layouts I've done beside the ones for Hey Little Magpie in upcoming post.

November 2015


Love this final part to the series of The Hungry Games - I went on my own, something that I've done a few time.

James and I where on our way to the Skills Show at the NEC, when we heard that the Queen was coming to officially open Grand Central (New Street Station)  so we just had to wait and see if I could get some photos.

And as we were early we managed to get front row positions, so image when I was checking social media and came across this photo, of course me and James centre stage.

Then it was time for some pre-christmas shopping and lunch with the girls in Solihull

My Hey Little Magpie blogpost using My Minds Eye - My Story collection - full blogpost here

December 2015

Time for James, my cousin and me to fly out to Frankfurt to visit the real Christmas market for the weekend, and it was fab.  A place I want to visit again and soon.

Picking James up from school, he casually informed me that Prince William was at the conference centre, which was part of the collage, I was just in time to get a photographs before he left.

Theatre visit to see Hairspray with Julie, first time seeing it and it was enjoyable, not sure whether I would see it again, but who knows eh!

Then after a few texts, arrange to spend the day with Michelle, Tracey and Sheena in Birmingham - a quick walk around the Christmas market and lunch.

Now this meeting was along time over due - like 12 years.  Sandra is a school friend of mine, who moved to Birmingham shortly after finishing University.  Anyway she lives about 15 minutes drive from my house, and we have only bumped into each other about twice in the 12 years I've been down here - shameful I know.  We have contact via Facebook - and we were trying to arrange a meeting with some 'girlfriends' back in Preston, when it dawned of us - WTF! we need to make the effort and meet up in Birmingham first - so we did.  We went to a Thai restaurant and chatted away like we had just seen each other the day before, it was brill and this year we are determine to meet up more often, even if its only for a quick coffee and not leave it 12 years next time.

Can you also see how we turned up dressed the same - how strange is that !

Meet with Julie, Barbara and Sue at the Heart of the Country for some shopping and lunch.

Time to celebrate my birthday, this past year has really flown by, been full on and packed with adventure - here to the new year and years ahead being just the same.

Spent a few days in Derbyshire at my MIL, and James and me spent a day in Buxton, even though it rained really hard all day we had a great day together.

And to end a great year, my baby boy turned 18, really! the time has just flown by and he has turned into a great young man.

My Hey Little Magpie blogpost - using mainly Amy Tangerine - Finders Keepers - full blogpost here

Right I'm unto date now, and feel like I'm back on track.

Apart from my HLM blogpost I've been scrapping so will be sharing them with you over the coming weeks.  And also I'm currently trying to finish my December Daily album - it won't be finished by end of January but really hoping I can get it done by end of February.

Thanks for stopping by …

Re-Cap Part 2

As promised my next two months condensed.


September 2015

A theatre visit with Julie and Barbara, and it was fab.

James returned back to college and this time he was walking with two of the triplets, back together again.

Me and Sheena went back to Bristol to for the Great Shaun Round Up - its took be an age to get the tickets, but I was determined this time to get some after the disappointment of the time.

and we met the girls and had aother great day.

Then I did something that I not done before, I went to the theatre on my own, OMG!  even at 50 it was scary, but I did it and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and its definitely something I will do again.

When I moved down to Birmingham I was on my own apart from Jon and James, I'd left all my friends back in Preston and I knew that if I wanted to go anywhere I had to go on my own, unless Jon could come with me.  So early on in my Birmingham life I would just get up and go places and do things that interested me and even though it was scary, I did it and enjoyed doing it.  But over the years I've got out of the habit of doing things that I want to do, and if I didn't have anyone to go with, I wouldn't go and then realised that I was missing out on life as I was sitting at home wishing I was going here, there or anywhere and others were doing just that with their family and friends, so I took the bull by the horns and booked my ticket and went.   And I really enjoyed the experience, don't get me wrong, it great to go with others, but doing this on my own proved to myself that I can do it,  and I will do it again, if the situation arises.

Then it was time for a weekend of crafting ! I really don't know how Julie manages to get all our crafting goodies in her car, but she does and yes, each time I say its not going to fit and I will leave something behind, but it does and away we go for a fab weekend in the country.

Here we all our trying to get a photo using Sheenas selfie stick.

My Hey Little Magpie September 2015 blogpost - using Jillibean Soup Collection - full blogpost here 

October 2015

Celebrated one of James friends 18th - love that he's still in touch with some of his friends from Junior school.

Spent the day with Julie and Barbara at the New Grand Central Station & Shopping Complex - its has made such a big difference to the station and this area.

Went to my friends Wedding

Designed and organised a Charity crop at my Solihull crop - and exhausting day but well worth the effort, especially when we raised over £840 which we were able to get fund-matrched and split between two charities - Typhoid UK and the Shenley Farm Community Centre -where we hold the crop - so both charities received £840 each.

Then to finish the month off, we had another family break in Sheringham.

My Hey Little Magpie October 2015 blogpost - using Crate Paper/Maggie Holmes - Shine collection - full blogpost here 

Come back in a few days, for my final two months catch up.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy New Year 2016 … I'm back with a Re-Cap

Well, I have definitely been AWOL for far too long, oh my! how did it go AWOL for so long.  What my excuse, eh! I truly don't know other than life! life! and more life!  As I sit here and think of why I've not blogged I truly can't think of a reason, or excuse but I sure you all know that  feeling, once you stop doing something and want to re-start it again, it becomes harder and harder to get going.

I've missed blogging and so I'm hoping that I can get back in being a regular blogger again, I won't promise anything here and now, but I will try to keep it up to date.

As its been 6 months since I last blogged, I think I will do a re-cap on my scrappy life and life in general, then I can start a fresh without worrying too much about what been missed.

I've tried to condense my missing 6 months - over the next 3 blog post - then I will be up to day, with my current months Hey Little Magpie (HLM) layouts


July 2015


A day visit to Twycross Zoo - love it and we had a perfect day weather wise, definitely somewhere to go back to again soon.

The Big Hoot - in Birmingham - well after the success of Gromit hunt in Bristol, Birmingham decided to do the Big Hoot, we had a great couple of days going around the city trying to find them,

A had a great weekend with the girls in Preston, love going back and much make more of an effort to go more often this year.

One of my July 2015 Hey Little Magpie layouts - using Crate Paper - Poolside Collection - blogpost here

AUGUST 2015

Shaun in the City 2015 - we had a few day in Bristol on the hunt for Shauns and to visit the balloon festival - what a great few days we had and the weather was great as well.

We spent the day my lovely friend Becky, and again she was the perfect host taking us around the city and being a great guide.

We even got to see the balloon festival and the music spectacular in the evening.

Now what are the chances of meeting your buddies in a completely difference city unplanned, Sheena & Paul was down for the weekend to visit family and the balloon festival, so I contacted Tracey and Michelle to see if they could meet up for a coffee and we ended up  having a fab hour or so catching up.  

Then us four went to do some more shaun the sheep hunt together, before splitting up and doing are own thing.

Then we had a family week by the sea in Sheringham, love it here

Then a get together with the girls at Chippy new home, great to catch up with them all.

My Hey Little Magpie August 2015 blog post - using Simple Stories Summer Vibes, which included hand stitching on my layouts  - full blogpost here

Thanks for reading and come back soon for my next two months.

Happy Scrapping ...