Having a ball... er... stick!

Had a ball at the crop on Wednesday, but so much chatting and raucus laughter meant I only got a couple of pages done! Here's one of the two... Using mostly Rose Moka goodies, it's nice to get a bit of brightness to cheer up our dark winter days we seem to have now!! 

New Schemes...

There's a new challenge over at Scrapshemes - the scheme this time was some cool wall art and here's what I created. I used some MOO cards on this and I love the small size and unusual shape!!

The papers and embellishments are all BasicGrey Eva and the centre 'bit' is acetate to give it some support.

Famous in my own household!

While Becks did sterling work on QVC this afternoon, you may have spotted a few of my projects.. including the two most famous Newfies in the UK! I didn't get a chance to watch at work but having watched it back on Sky Plus - the funniest thing was that Martha thoroughly enjoyed it! She recognised herself, Lola and Me!! She barked and licked the screen and generally enjoye two hours of Shopping TV crafting!! Gotta love that Newf!!

Perfect Day...

So these are the very last kickings of the papers from my Studio Calico kit... it was a wonderfully understated collection and was so easy to wok with!

The picture is of my ol' Newfie girls Bella and Chloe - it's an old picture taken at Kimmeridge, a place they both loved!!

Blink and you'll miss it...

Some things are fleeting... you wait the longest time for something and before you get a good look at it it's gone...

It's true of that elusive bird shot... just a couple of frames fired off whle you cross your fingers you've nailed exposure in the contrasty autumn sunshine.

And if you're a Newfie, your dinner and apres-meal chewy is a fleeting experience too... blink and you'll miss it as I wonder if they've been inhaled!

People often (ok always!) comment that they wouldn't fancy feeding a Newfie. But relatively speaking they aren't big eaters... but they can do it fast!

Eating's not the only thing she does fast... for a big dog she's incredibly agile... explosive entry into the water, combined with a single minded pursuit of the elusive stick!

Teeny Tiny...

When it first arrived the teeny tags were my least favourite bit of the September Studio Calico kit. However i've used lots of them now and they are actually growing on me! On this page featuring a 'stick-crazy' Martha, I've used them as a backing to my title.

The border at the top of the page is a Stampin'Up punch which I bought from my lovely friend Jo. It gives you the look of a page torn froma  notebook so is great for a 'shabby chic' look.

I'm seriously getting down to the last dregs of this months Studio Calico kit now, I've got one more page in progress on my desk that I think will more or less wipe it out! It's probably a good thing though as apart from a couple of outstanding DT commitments it's all needing to be packed away for a bit of DIY.... yuk!

Whatever the Weather....

More lucious Studio Calico goodness again today, I adore layering up the texture and there are some fabulous trims and ribbons in the kit along with flowers in a mixture of materials, which i've mixed in with some of the BG White Chocolate Delilah chipboard alphas.

Scrummy...

Finally got round to scrapping this pic of my scrummy Birthday cakes (made by Mum!) which were gobbled up in record time by various visiting relatives! This was a really quick page using some more of the September Studio Calico kit.

Superficial or Sacrificial?

I think i've just made the ultimate sacrifice.... I adore Braburn apples...but they are shipped from New Zealand using millions (ok maybe not millions) of food miles in the process, not to mention not supporting UK farmers. As a environmentally concious wannabe smallholder I can't justify that any more... So i've jacked in the gorgeous, juicy and succulent Braburns in... and gone Gala. And you know what... they're ok! Very nearly as juicy, and just as yummy.. and without the nagging conscience in the back of my mind. That all combines to make me a happier eco-consumer.. Oh Happy Day!

iGoogle.... Do you?

Once you get used to iGoogle it becomes a little bit like your mobile phone, your car or your iPod.... you wonder how you ever got along without it. That one little page set as your homepage will let you fire quick posts up to your blog, let you Twitter (see further down on the sidebar for more info on that), lets you keep track of all your favourite blogs and also gives you access to a multitude of other essential applications...

Here's a quick list of my favourites widgets!

1. Google Reader - Blog Hop the easy way.

2. Blogger - Blog the quick and easy way without even leaving your homepage.

3. iTwitter - Instant access to share what you are doing right now with the world

4. Wikipedia - The essential resource to find out anything... fast

5. Curency Converter - Make sure your US shopping is as cheap as you hope it's going to be!

6. Weather - Track the upcoming weekend weather to help you get through your week.

7. Daily Horoscope - I don't believe a word of it..... but still HAVE to read it!

8. Word of the Day - I'm always up for the challenge of sneaking this into casual conversation!

9. Quotes - Mildly inspiring, often poignant and always fun.

10 News Headlines - Keep your finger on the pulse... great for sounding 'up to the minute' knowledgeable!

If that isn't enough you can also have a gorgeous 'theme' for your page. Recently a whole new batch were released and I can't tell you how happy I was to find a 'Paul Frank' one in the mix. The main header pic changes every so often to a selection of fabulous designs! Here's a few from today!

Just to prove...

... that my youngest doglet actually has legs, and isn't in fact a dolphin... Here she is froliking in the heather and bracken in the Autumn sunshine. Just a gorgeous, gorgeous weekend!

It's Good to Give!

There's something warm and reassuring about the new Studio Calico kit, it's got a real Autumn vibe going on and the sort of palette that goes with all my pictures at the moment.

This weekend was gorgeous but it's the countdown to the dreaded changing clocks now... so to cheer myself up i'm going to get thinking about costume ideas for Halloween.... not for me, for the dogs you understand! Any ideas gratefully received! Last year will be tough to beat... Click here and here for the lowdown on last years offerings!

As a thankyou for one great idea i've got one of these Dark Chocolate BasicGrey chipboard albums to give away to one lucky reader!!

Leave me an idea in the comments section and i'll pick one at the end of the week!

The Post of Cute Critters!

The girls were out and about yesterday... the big chickens enjoyed a good gallop around in the chilly sunshine including mugging me for corn from their treat pot and clambering on various bits of garden furniture! The Pekins are still a bit little to come out... (I'm a bit scared they'll hide in a bush!) i think i may need to fashion some sort of larger run to get them (and me) used to it!

This picture is so so typical of the antics they get up to! Ruby muscling in for treats and camera time!

Martha prefers fun of a wetter variety...

And to round things off some GORGEOUS piglets out in the Forest.

These pictures make me happy....

By day or night Newfies love to be out and about exploring - here's Martha in her ususal pose, loving these frame filling shots though!

Including her in total bliss with her eyes shut!

And Lola out for a night time jaunt round the block at about 10.30pm last night!

Stamp Excess

Due to overenthusiastic shopping at 5am I've managed to end up with two of this stamp set from Studio Calico - If you'd like to re-home it, i'm after £4 inc p&p.... email me if you are interested!

Beary Hungry

I'm just hoping my girls don't ge an ideas....

Not Mine...

Before I go on... I hasten to mention this is NOT my camera and lens!! But I can still imagine the pain of the poor photographer who tripped and fell on his.... Ouch!

Fine Dining...

I broke out the Rosa Moka again at the crop - it's one of those ranges that everyone oohs and aahs over! Once I wrestled it back form the girls, I knocked this one up.... it features Martha complete with bib enjoying a pub lunch just after my Birthday last month. I've added some Thickers and some Doodlebug Jewels and Velvet Brads.

I'm always meaning to 'pimp' her bib...maybe some nice fabric flowers and stitching? Any ideas?

Genius...

It's been one of those days where this would have been very welcome... just one of those weary days...

And wouldn't the world be a nicer place if everyone had one of these.... oh how I miss consideration...

True Friend

The new challenge for A True Friend is all about health. My girls adore visiting the vets so i'd love to do a page about that, however I think I might bet a few funny looks if I started taking pics of the staff there! So instead I've done a page about Lola's 'metalwork' that she now has - it's not a terribly happy thing to remember so i've focused on her being out about about having fun after all the hassle!

The page features some of the October Studio Calico kit along with a gorgeous Hambley tree. (continuign my tree phase!)

Pwetty bear!

Just a pretty picture of a little brown bear.... ok.... maybe not so little!

Scrap Schemes Debut...

There's a new challenge over at Scrap Schemes and it's my first as a DT member! We had to be inspired by this lovely leafy image - and you can find my page below.

I adored the strong monochromatic lines of the leaves on this scheme, and the shapes and form really spoke to me. I've echoed the design with my ribbon and cardstock leaf design on my page, but I've also 'grunged it up' with some vintage style newsprint patterned paper inspired by the black and white of the plates. I've added a touch of chocolate brown flocking in a random manner to tie everything together.

The flocking was adhered to the page using a glue stick - just dab it on (I put some on the bottom left corner of my pic and also all around the perimeter of the page) and then chuck the flockign on top. The trick is to press the flocking into place rather than rubbing - which would smear it all over the place!!

Woodland = Goodland

I seem to be having a 'Tree' phase at the moment! This times it's the GORGEOUS Sassafras Woodland Whimsy range  - and who, quite frankly, could resist it!

My picture features Martha mid paddle, usually her whole head gets dunked in the water so she always ends up with a soggy and wrinkly muzzle! The poor girl gets called wrinkly nose until it dries.

Now that's what I call Christmas! Pt 2

I was totally sold on the New Sassafras from the sneak, but with the full line now being viewable I NEED it NOW!

How adorable are those stamps!!?