Day 8 - Tuesday 8th January

“The best colour in the whole world, is the one that looks good, on you!” – Coco Chanel

I love colours – all colours. Perhaps that is why I love crafting so much as I can use
such beautiful coloured papers, ribbons, flowers and embellishments to create wonderful
cards to give to my family and friends to make them smile on special occasions. You only
have to look through all my crafting stash to see my colourful tastes.

I love pinks, purples and blues the best. The more vibrant the better. Pastels are not really
my thing, too insipid.

My real favourite colour is pink. Fantastic cerise pink.

For handbags, shoes, jewellery, clothes – pink, pink, pink! This Christmas I got a
pink filofax – just gorgeous!!!

It is such a bright, happy colour. I have lots of cerise pink clothes which when
I wear them I feel in control and powerful.

In colour therapy, pink indicates a person who is loving, compassionate and can be a bit
emotional. I think this sums me up pretty well. I think I am a loving and caring person.
I am probably not as emotional as I used to be but I do get upset quite easily –
I just don’t cry so much anymore!

In fact I can’t remember the last time I had a good cry!!!

(picture of journal to follow) This is the photo that I will use - lovely pink stash!!!

Week One - Layout

This is the layout for week one. This is the first ever layout I have done. It is 12x12 and is using K&Company papers. The lettering and the swirls were cut on my Craft Robo and I have added a Bazzill flower, with a paper one and a gem brad. The quote is from day 6 and I managed to find it in a book of vellum quotes.

Day 7 - Monday 7th January

“Look back and smile on perils past” - Sir Walter Scott

Week one is over, how do you feel ? Capture with a photo

Crikey where has that week gone?

So how am I feeling? Well I am really enjoying the journaling but I know if it wasn’t for the
prompts, I wouldn’t keep up with it. I have had fun putting the journal together and thinking about what my photos will be and how I will take them.

One of my goals for the year was to try new crafting techniques and since I have never done a scrapbook layout before, I know the weekly layouts will be quite a challenge for me. I already know what I am going to do for this week’s layout, but how it will turn out, is a different
matter. In my head, it looks fantastic!!!
Another goal was to get in to photography and this journal is definitely making me do this. Good job I got a new camera for my birthday!!!

I really hope I keep the journal up as I would love my family to look back at it in years to come
and have some insight as to the type of person I am.

One thing is for sure, I am going to have to overcome my fear of having my photo taken!!! This photo I have taken this evening using a mirror. It looks horrible which perhaps is not a good reflection of how I am feeling, as I am feeling really good about myself.

365 Challenge - Days 1 -6

I have ummed and aahed about whether to put this on my blog. I am making the journal on a daily basis using the prompts from Anna's challenge -http://scrappingangelsuk.typepad.com/365_days/

I have decided that I will blog the text from the journal and then show a photo of my journal entry. Sometimes the journal text will be up without the photo of the journal but I will always catch up.

This is a catch up of days 1 to 6 which I will do backwards starting with Day 6 and work my way back to Day 1.

Day 6 - Sunday 6th January 2008

“Hold out your hands to feel the luxury of the sunbeams” - Helen Keller

Our hands tell us a lot about the person we are, our occupations, age and life. What do your hands say about you.

My hands have always been one of my favourite things about my body – starting from my wrists which are slender. My hands are small and I always think quite dainty. I have quite long fingers and my nails are very strong and grow long quickly. I like to keep my nails all one length and as soon as one breaks, then I tend to cut the others off to match the broken one.

I don’t tend to treat them very kindly. I don’t wear rubber gloves when washing up which is often and rarely apply any hand cream to them!!!! I have only ever had 2 manicures, one for my birthday years ago and then one on my wedding day which was disastrous and I took all the nail polish off before the ceremony and quickly painted them myself.
I have just done all the chores for a Sunday evening and now my hands feel dry. When I look at them more closely, they are beginning to look old – well they are almost 35 years old!

What do you expect?

Day 5 - Saturday 5th January

"I am beautiful no matter what they say" - Christine Aguilera

Lets get up close and personal. How do you feel about the person you are, inside and out?

Well this is a difficult one. I don’t want this too sound too negative as I could go on and on about
how I feel about my looks and body and none of it would be positive. I think as time has gone on, I have accepted how I look and I am quite happy with myself. I know I could be thinner, but
who doesn’t? I bagged myself a handsome husband and we have a beautiful daughter so I can’t be too bad!
I hate feeling pressured to look a certain way. I don’t subscribe to the skinny, over tanned, heavily made up celebrities that all the girls try to be. I am what I am!
On the inside I think I am ok. I am kind and caring and tend to treat people in the
same way as I expect to be treated. I cannot take a compliment and I know I
don’t have much self esteem.

My photos for this entry show me in my pyjamas looking my worst first thing in the
morning, the makeup I wear to try and make myself look a little better,
me doing my hair after a shower and then the final me... ... ready to face the day ahead!!!

Day 4 - Friday 4th January

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are" - Mary Jean Irion

Record a normal, daily routine

Today is my day off, so slightly different to my normal week days.
On my day off, I like to wake up slowly and try get a cup of tea in bed before Zoë wakes up. I managed this morning and had a peaceful 30 minutes browsing the UKS website and decided to take part in this wonderful 365 challenge. Then Zoë woke up!!!
Normally I would do all the housework on a Friday, but I didn’t today. I photographed some Thank You cards and updated my blog which took most of the morning. I then went on a stash shopping spree to The Range (had lunch there) and Hobbycraft.

It has rained more or less all day so haven’t done very much else. Zoë has been really well behaved today (for once!) until this evening, when she went a bit hyper. She gets that vicious and determined look on her face and then starts bashing me or Daddy, depending on who she is playing with at the time. James is on call and as I write this at 9.50pm has just been called out to Portland. Oh dear, he wasn’t best pleased as he was in the bath when the call came through.

Day 3 - Thursday 3rd January

"Life is too short and too amazing to spend time worrying about imperfection " - Ali Edwards

Grab your camera and click, dont worry about the imperfections!

Amongst my many imperfections is my short sightedness. I have worn glasses since I was about 15. I hate wearing glasses and although I have some nice designer Diesel glasses, I always wear contact lenses. Which is a godsend as when it is raining, if you wear glasses, then you need some windscreen wipers!!!!

As for all my other imperfections, after almost 35 years, I have just learned to live with them.
They make me who I am!!!

Day 2 - Wednesday 2nd January

"I´m gonna make a change,

For once in my life

It´s gonna feel real good

Gonna make a difference

Gonna make it right

I'm starting with the man in the mirror"
Michael Jackson

Grab your notebook at some point today and journal your feelings, or with just one word that sums up the day for you!

Well today was back to work after the Christmas break, so I think my word for the day would have to be NORMALITY
What is normal?
Life has never been the same since Zoë was born.
Every day she brings so much fun and laughter into our lives.
I am constantly amazed by how she changes every day.
I am feeling optimistic for the New Year and feel buoyed up by this 365 challenge.
I hate to make New Year resolutions as I know I will never stick to them and I like to have goals that are achievable.
The weather is cold and dull and I would rather be at home snuggled up and warm with my family. First day back at work was ok – where is my motivation?

My picture is of the sandwich making routine I go through every night in preparation for the next day.

Day 1 - Tuesday 1st January

A day without laughter is a day wasted" - Charles Chaplain

I want you to write a list of Goals for 2008, nothing to unachievable, just a list of maybe 10 things you would like to do this year.

The start of my 365 day journal.
The first prompt is to write goals for the new year.
1. Lose some weight - am 10st 9lb – eek!!!
2. Get into my photography
3. Try new crafting techniques
4. Be a better mother
5. Be a better wife, friend and lover to my husband
6. Have more confidence in myself
7. Keep in contact with distant friends
8. Be more motivated at work
9. GROW UP!!!!
10. And laugh more.

I have included a picture of Zoë laughing on the swings today at Poole Park. I love to hear the sound of Zoë’s laughter as it warms me from top to toe. I love it when she gets so giggly so she almost screams as part of her laughter and goes all weak so that she can hardly stand.

Laugh Often
Dream Big
Reach for the Stars

New Year rings in Craftiness

My last post for the day!!!
I have been a member on the UK Scrappers website for some months now but I have joined a new team on there. We are called Altered Angels. There are 10 of us and we have a great time chatting, crafting, and attempt to earn points by taking part in challenges.
Apart from the couple of swaps that I have done, I haven't actually taken part in any challenges. I only have made cards in the past and one of New Year resolutions is to try out more different crafty things.
With that in mind, I have joined 2 challenges, both are a year long.
The first is a A-Z challenge. Basically you decide on a format and a theme and then every two weeks, you do the next letter in the alphabet and do a layout based on it. There are lots of options, like Books of Me, Tag books, scrap books etc and basically you can do it on anything as long as you do the A-Z. For more details see here http://itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/its_a_creative_world/a-to-z-art-journal-2008.html
I have decided to do it on Zoe. She has just turned 2 and so I thought it would be a good way to journal a year in her life. I am going to do it as 12x12 scrapbook with each letter representing an achievement, activity or one of her favourite things. I will end with 26 layouts - HOPEFULLY!!!!

The second challenge is called 365 challenge http://scrappingangelsuk.typepad.com/365_days/ . This is where you journal your life with photos everyday based on the prompts given by Anna on the website. I got myself a 8x8 sketch pad and am going to alter the front and back cover. Then we will be given a weekly layout to do based on something we have journalled that week. This will give us 52 layouts.
I will try to keep up with both my challenges and will post up the layouts on here.

Thank You Cards

Last night I managed to make 10 Thank You cards. I designed a Thank You word on my Craft Robo and cut it on fancy pearlised paper. I then did a mat for the words using Bazzill Bling in various colours.

I then put this on to card blanks and just did a bit of embellishing with ribbons, brads, gems and flowers. Quick and simple was the aim. Just 2 more to make. They are all different but I have only posted my favourite ones up. PS pictures taken with my new camera!!!

Group shot:

Individual shots.

Just got to write them all out now and get them posted!!!!

Photography

I have a list of things that I want to achieve this year and one of them is to get into photography. I already had a Nikon point and shoot camera which we bought when I was pregnant with Zoe. It is ok but the delay between pressing the button and the camera actually taking the picture is so annoying. I really struggled to get any nice photos of Zoe - she seems to know just when to look away!!!!

So I have decided that (is my birthday on the 11th Jan) I would ask for money for my birthday and then get myself an entry level digital SLR camera. So off we went and bought a Canon 400D - early I know but my lovely husband paid for half of it.
I love it. I haven't got a clue what I am doing with it but it seems quite forgiving and I have taken a few shots with it. I know I already need a zoom lens to go with it as the zoom on the lens that came with it is no different to what my little Nikon has. I haven't dared tell my husband that as he thinks I am mad for buying it in the first place and that I won't use it much!!! Little does he know!!

I really want to do a course but can't find one in my area but have found this great website for Canon cameras
http://www.usa.canon.com/content/rebelxt_tutorial/rebelxtlessons.htm

I will try to post pictures up on here as I take any ones that I am happy with!!!

Happy New Year to you all - A year of change

Well I hope so anyway.

We had a lovely Christmas and a very quiet New Year.

I have lots to update so I will do it in seperate posts for each subject.

Christmas was good. Santa was very kind to us all and Zoe had a fantastic time. She really knows how to open her presents now and everyone elses!!!!

I think her favourite present is a big red tractor which my Dad got for her.

Trouble is when you try to the tractor away she has a bit of a strop