Make and Take

With all the tidying up of my stash, I have come across lots of bits and pieces I forgot I had and have been inspired by some of them.

Although I've not been one for handmade embellishments, except for the folded flowers, such as those on 'I love holding your hand' layout, but I've been playing.

Yesterday it was the net flowers - so simple yet effective. Then I had a play with coloured string stuff that I bought at Ally Pally and made the flower below:

Finally inspired by the Studio Calico sneak peak, I saw some toothpick pennants by Pebbles Inc and knew I could make my own.

Instructions:

1) Fold a piece of paper in half, so that the width is the size of the pennant length you want.

2)Cut triangles so that the long end is along the fold and the point is at the cut end (use a template if you need to) but I did mine by looking.

3)Lay the double pennant out wrong side up, and add a short length of DST across the fold.

4) Dab glue/Pritt stick on each point, then place the cocktail stick along the fold with one end just inside the paper (or sticking out a tad if you prefer).

5) Fold the pennant around the cocktail stick, and align points, pressing firmly to stick both sides together. Et voila!

A new wave of crafting

I've been reading a thread on UKS entitled "Too much Stash - is that possible?" - a sort of self help encouragement group allegedly for those who have too much stash but keep buying. It has some hilarious confessions which have kept me entertained over the past few days.

Having been to Ally Pally on the weekend and spent my money, I decided it was time for a stash purge. Neither finances or inclination make me a stash purchase addict, but over the years I have accumulated a certain amount of stash, some of which is definitely past its sell by date, at least for my taste.

It does however mark the various phases in my scrapbooking and previous cardmaking life, and a LO is under construction.

Having sorted out my stash, I then got excited about using up some of the scraps that I had so carefully organised by colour and size, and the birdhouse I bought in Sainsburys many months ago sprang to mind. A couple of hours later, I made a minor dent in my turquoise, blue and green scrap pile and the birdhouse is now gracing my mantelpiece.

On a wave of enthusiasm, I then made half a dozen cards using old stash which I will not scrap with, but that makes good cards - happy days.

Now to clear up my craft table!!

98 Things

I found this on the High in the Sky blog (http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/2010/04/99-things.html) and thought it looked a fun thing to think about - sort of complementary to the 100 things to do before you die lists that I mentally make but rarely commit to paper.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightening storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of The Statue Of Liberty
18. Grown your own veg
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinnydipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse - nearly! - in 1999 I experience one from behind the clouds - it was eerie!
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Tower Of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
50. Gone scuba diving
51. Kissed in the rain
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in theatre
54. Been in a movie
55. Visited the Great Wall Of China)
56. Started your own business
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Served in a soup kitchen
60. Sold Girl Scout cookies - done bob a job - does that date me?
61. Gone whale watching
62. Got flowers for no reason
63. Donated blood
64. Gone sky diving
65. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
66. Bounced a cheque
67. Flown in a helicopter
68. Saved a favourite childhood toy
69. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
70. Eaten caviar
71. Pieced a quilt
72. Stood in Times Square
73. Toured The Everglades
74. Been Fired from a job
75. Seen the Changing Of The Guard in London
76. Broken a bone
77. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
78. Seen The Grand canyon
79. Published a book - but I have had magazine articles in print.
80. Visited the Vatican
81. Bought a brand new car
82. Walked in Jerusalem
83. Had your picture in the newspaper
84. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Years Eve
85. Visited the White House
86. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
87. Had chickenpox
88. Saved someone's life
89. Sat on a jury
90. Met someone famous
91. Joined a book club
92. Had a tattoo
93. Had a baby
94. Seen The Alamo in person
95. Swam in The Great Salt Lake - or any salt lake would do - and I haven't - yet!
96. Been involved in a lawsuit
97. Owned a cell phone
98. Been stung by a bee

Some of these I have put in italics as they don't interest me, and would sub them for other things that do - like seeing the Pacific (tick), seeing the Northern Lights, climbing Snowdon, learning to tap dance (tick), finishing a major crochet project (underway), getting a doctorate, passing my Advanced Driving Test, buying a sculpture, seeing Machu Picchu, flying in an F16, going on a retreat, having my nose pierced and lots more that have left my head right now!

Eeeek - the self portrait blues!

The final choice below:

Never realised quite how hard it is to take a self portrait, with no tripod, no camera skills and no dummy to focus on further away than arms length!!

Needless to say, the results were not promising -but never mind, I am resolved to learn to do better - not at self portraits, but at photography in general!

So, the final choice, and some of the options - was I right?

12 Days of Christmas Photography Course

I've signed up for a photo course with Cheryl Johnson called the 12 days of Christmas.

I am really looking forward to this and hope to get some new ideas for Christmas photos, as I've not got any really good ones. They always seem to be too busy or have too many colours, so this year fingers crossed, I will have something a bit more inspiring to remember the year by and to put in my scrapbooks.

But up first is a self portrait!! HEEEELLLPPPP! I take the photos, so I don't have to be in them. I mean, that's the whole point, so this is well outside my comfort zone. It also brings home the fact that I have absolutely no camera skills despite my lovely Nikon. I just point and shoot.

To my shame, I didn't even know how to work the self-timer, but now I do. So if I get nothing else out of this course (and I'm sure that isn't the case, having seen CJs photos, surely something will rub off on me!) at least I can take a photo using the timer. Thank you CJ, for getting me off my backside and finding out something new about my camera.

As for the self portrait - well, watch this space. It's not done yet!

I love Autumn

The coloured leaves, the clear skies (sometimes), harvest - we've had some wonderful quinces from the garden this year which have been turned into a fabulous ice cream sauce with vanilla and cinnamon. I love this time of year and especially Bonfire Night - now only days away.

I hope the fire brigade don't go on strike, although I sympathise with their cause, but I'm looking forward to going to the renowned Carshalton Fireworks display on Saturday which is traditional in our family.

We also always have sparklers and mulled wine - yum, should be fun.

It's been ages...

since I did much scrapbooking, but especially since I photographed it and put it on my blog!

So here goes, from the Sketchy Thursdays blog which gives me inspiration.

It always gives me pleasure to use up scraps, so an old sheet of pp, a stamping try out with my gorgeous Gel a Tins stamps and scraps to make the flower, from the tutorial at InspiredtoScrap.net have been put to good use.