Christmas is a coming!

Wow, takes you back doesn't it? One of my ALL TIME FAVOURITES from many years ago - brings a lump to my throat even now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKTHvW2JcAA

(ok, I really wanted to just be able to insert the video from YouTube but it won't let me so here is the link - does anyone know how to do that???)

Got the blues????

... well, we haven't. We've certainly got the pinks, the Winter Pinks from Bellaboo ,that is.

The kit has been available for a couple of weeks now (go and get yours NOW!) and the newsletter went live last week which was not too bad considering the terrible postal strike which caused the delivery of our kits to be rather delayed! But we had such fun with this gorgeous bundle of pinks, blues, sparkle and texture - the glitter managed to get spread around the flat - beds, fridge, bath, sofa - all a bit sparkly since I worked on my ideas!

Here are a few peeks of my layouts and a mini-album that I created to whet your appetite but to get the full view, you have to go over to Bellaboo and check out the newsletter (really pleased with how it turned out again!) and then stroll over to the gallery to see lots of gorgeous pinkification. Let Libby know that I sent you over and while you are there, make sure that you check out her FANTASTIC Christmas selections - all on my wish list!






Other news in the Hausmann household revolves around the "BIG" birthday that is approaching later this week - all a bit scary! The party celebrations kick on on Friday when loads of people invade Recklinghausen from all over the UK, followed by open house here at the flat, and then the main event - my party - on Saturday.

I have been a terrible blogger recently - no excuse really. So will try to update on the party countdown again tomorrow or the next day!

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Libby over at Bellaboo! First time for me. This one has been doing the rounds for quite some time I think and now it has reached little old Recklinghausen - funny old world...

The "rules" are:

1. Link to your tagger, and also post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

My problem is that I do not know 7 people to tag - so if you read this, let me know and you are "it":

1. I have a fear of counting - you know like counting sheep to go to sleep. It's connected to a recurring nightmare that started when I was a child and I get all panicky if I try - it's the never ending aspect of numbers that gets me!

2. I am a total control freak (yeah, anyone who knows me knows this one for sure!)

3. I have a bit of an obsession with cleaning products - I like to make sure I always have the right product for the right job - yes, I have too much time on my hands!

4. I am beginning to "lose" my native language (English) and it is becoming a rather peculiar mix of German and English - sometimes I use a German word in the middle of an English sentence because I cannot come up with the English one quickly enough!

5. My music taste is somewhat eclectic and includes some real corkers such as Jimmy Hendrix, Justin Nozuka, Nigel Kennedy, Barry Manilow, Duran Duran, Frank Sinatra and Fergie just to name a few extremes!

6. I am a chocolate pleb - only Cadbury's will do.

7. I am a total tea junkie but usually only manage to finish half a cup before it goes cold and I leave it - I waste at least a pint of tea a day and Ralph hates all the half finished cups lying around.

There, some strange and "random" facts for all to see! Am I strange or is it just me? Let me know...

Photo of the day

I have actually been keeping (more or less) up to date with my photo of the day project even if I have not been so good at sharing them. I have just spent a few hours organising my albums for August, September and some of October - you can see them to the right here. I would love to hear your comments on my photos - have they got better throughout the year? Are they boring because they feature far too few people? What advice would you give me to improve?

Admittedly, there are some days when I just have not managed to get the camera out or the weather was just so terrible that it seemed no point but then there have been other days when I have taken dozens of what I think are really nice ones so I have "spread" these around a little!

I was trying to have a theme per month but then the holiday in Yukon came at the end of August so obviously, these take priority. Then in September, I was in another daily creativity class including a photo of the day, but I had the holiday, a trip to Birmingham and a trip to Harrods, so I have just interspersed a few of the daily prompts in between those photos I took in these locations.

Clearly, I have a bit of an autumn leaf fixation going on this month (just LOVE autumn) but TODAY marks the start of the last 30 days of my 30s so for the next 30 days, I am going to try and focus on my life right now including some (rather dodgy) self portraits.

It's really weird but HS started a photo a day project last week too so I have just sort of incorporated it all in to what I wanted to do anyway but I will include the next 30 days' photos in the little album she shared with us - mine is covered with adorable Amy Butler "Belle" and I am going to write more in there than she was prompting for. I will also be taking more than one photo on some days (like today for example) so my monthly photo album will contain more than 31. Just to let you know!

Anyway, as ever CC gratefully received.

Sad

that the boys did not quite manage to win, but I enjoyed watching it and was proud that we reached the final anyway.


There's always next time.

Creative Energy!

Sometimes it just works doesn't it? I mean, it flows, you have the right ideas, you don't make mistakes and it all just turns out like the vision you had in your mind. It might not happen often, but I just had one of those weeks and I am on a roll!

First of all, I got my inspiration cards completed which I posted about already (and here is another sneak peek of the result - SO pleased with them!).

Then, I worked through the fab Autumn Breeze kit from Bellaboo. It is a great kit, even if I say so myself! (I helped to put it together) It was exactly what we had hoped for and we couldn't help but be totally inspired to put together warm, autumn layouts, cards and projects. You MUST go over to Bellaboo (http://www.bellaboo.co.uk/) and check it all out - all the kit projects can be seen in the gallery and there is also a fab newsletter (again, modesty becomes me - I helped with that too!) to download and read with some of our featured projects using the kit, plus sketches and some inspiration.

Lib was thrilled to have Beckie Dreyer on board to design some amazing stuff with the kit and we were knocked out with the results - she has such brilliant style.

DO check it out and let Libby know that I sent you!

She has some brilliant products in stock with new stuff being added all the time and we have SO many ideas to share with everyone over the next few months. You wait until you see November's kit - totally fab and I am raring to go!

Here are a few peeks of the stuff I did - more over on the site!

And this is all that I had left - check out the newsletter on the site to find out the background to this little story!

And on top of that, I am in the process of catching up on my BPS Heidi Swapp class (A Year to Remember). I have been so out of sorts with the class recently that I lost my way somewhat. I think the idea of the art journal style layout for September left me a bit cold and then I stopped thinking about it which is a shame really. But this week I decided to pull myself together and get it done and then it was automatic to move onto the October layout which was so much fun. I knew immediately which photos I wanted to use - three or four from my time in the Phils - and it was really perfect timing. Here I am at the end of my 30s and when I was there, it was right at the beginning of my 30s and what a lot has happened in that 10 years! So in the end, the two layouts are finished and I am working on the calendar too so hopefully that will be completed soon - might include some of my photos from the Yukon.

And while I am blowing my own trumpet (and that of Bellaboo - go on, check it out!) I would also like to share some Halloween stuff I completed using Bellaboo's mini-kit - Frighteningly Fabulous. What fun to actually get those spooky pictures down on paper at last. The kit was ideal for some quick designs and was so easy to coordinate across the four layouts and banner. I am posting the banner here because I think it's so funky! I think these banners could be a new "thing" for me, along with the inspiration cards which Lib and I are going to start in a big way!

Anyway, for more piccies of my Halloween stuff, go over to Bellaboo (yes, RIGHT NOW!) and look through the gallery and then pick yourself up a kit and go for it.

And I have quite a few ideas for upcoming projects, photos and inspiration so watch this space for more...

Flowers

Just wanted to share a bit of a new project I have been working on the last few days. Through my BPS Heidi Swapp class, I have got involved in a inspiration card swap. Using the 5x7" HS cards, we have all made 10 identical cards which will be distributed out to those in the group who are participating - so at the end, I will get 10 different cards. I like the idea of this and had such fun doing them. I did 14 in total - 10 for the group, 1 for HS, 1 for me, 1 for Lib and 1 for another friend. Anyway, I do not want to post the finished result up here yet - as they are all currently in the post and I would rather wait until they are delivered - but I want to share an element I made for them.

I have been really interested in the different ways of making flower embellishments - there are so many tutorials on the net and they are all so lovely in their own ways - but this one caught my eye in particular. I loved the way that the flowers were built up though several layers and I decided to make them for my inspiration cards. I wanted to add a bit of sparkle, so I also added two different glitters and because my paper was a little thick, I reduced the number of layers. I am so pleased with the result and hope that the recipients of my cards like them too.

Yes, I am still alive!

Yes, I got back safe and sound from the Yukon although it feels like a lifetime ago and since then, have just been on the run. We hit the ground running when we got back on 14th with Ralph going immediately into the office and then working the whole weekend. I travelled out to Birmingham the following weekend to catch up with my mum and my sister - more of that later - and the weekend just gone, I went to London with Manuela for a girlie weekend! It was her birthday present from back in the summer for her "special" birthday and I decided she needed more "pink" in her life so we had a lot of fun and plenty of pink champagne! But of course, it has felt a bit rushed and my work weeks have been pretty short as I travelled out both times on the Friday. And now this week is also a short one because tomorrow (3rd) is a Bank Holiday for Reunification Day and we are travelling to the south of Germany to visit one of Ralph's friends on Friday - it's all go, go, go!

I need to write up the trip from my notes and get all the stories down for when I finally get the photos sorted and printed out. Such a lot of work as there are nearly 6,000 photos in total if you add up my camera, Ralph's and Helga's. Don't worry, I will not be boring anyone with them! Ralph has been working through them and so far has reduced the number to around 2,000 I think. We will only be boring people with maybe the top 100 so never fear. But of the few that I have managed to see, there are some stunners. I will try to post a few as and when.

The Yukon was such a surprise for me and I fell in LOVE with the place. I mean head over heels. Really. It is such an incredible place, I just do not know how I will ever be able to put these feelings into words and explain to anyone just how fantastic it was and all the amazing, wonderful experiences we had while we were there. The place is BIG and EMPTY and I found this really hard to get my head around. I am a big city girl, and here in Europe, it is hard to find areas that are really, truly empty. But over there, it is hard to find people or habitation. Such a wild, incredible place - it truly exceeded my wildest expectations and I am sad that I will never really be able to share that with anyone outside Ralph, Helga and Wolfgang who experienced it all with me. Words and photos will never be enough.

I just looked up some statistics on Wikipedia and they blow your mind.

Total area:
Yukon - 482,443 square km
Germany - 357,021 square km
UK - 244,820 square km

Total population:
Yukon - 30,989
Germany - 82,797,408
UK - 60,587,300

Population density:
Yukon - 0.065 / sq km
Germany - 230 / sq km
UK - 246 / sq km

I love statistics like this!

Yukon, here we come!

At last, I am finally getting a bit excited about our trip out to the Yukon which starts on Monday!

For those who do not know the details, we will fly direct to Whitehorse and then follow the road round Yukon, into Alaska for a day, then back into Yukon and might even take the road north to the Arctic Circle 66° - so exciting! We are hoping for good bear viewing (but not up close) and good weather without too many mosquitoes but I am just most looking forward to being back in Canada and seeing this part of the world that we have been so interested to see for so long.

As I just managed to finalise my mega album for last year's Canada trip, I thought I would try to be a bit ahead of the game and produce a mini-album to take along with me so that I can complete some of the journaling while I am there, making notes about destinations each day, highlights, main events etc. I have also left space for a 6" x 4" photo each day and that might remain blank until I get back, or I could fill it with postcards (although I am not so sure that there will be many available) or I am considering buying, and taking with me, a mini-photo printer so that I could print them out there and then each day. I think that could be really fun. We would have to use photos from my cameras as Ralph only shoots in RAW whereas I want RAW and a JPG. That way, I could just put the card in each evening and chose the best photo of the day. It could become a good routine and the album would be completed before I even got home which is the best thing of all! Of course, a mega album will follow, but I got so frustrated that we had nothing to show people from Nova Scotia as we just had too many photos and I was too slow to scrap the highlights!

I made the album super simple: 6x6 cardstock with BasicGrey Infuse papers to decorate. A double page for each day with a small pocket which already has a small journaling sheet ready to be completed opposite an area for the aforementioned photo. There is an area for an introduction and reflection as well as some raised pockets at the back for larger ephemera that needs to be kept. I can expand the album when I get back if necessary with extra pages or inserts which makes it really flexible. I have also included two full journaling pages for whatever comes into my mind at the time. The journal starts on Monday which is when we will travel down to Frankfurt airport for early check-in before staying at the airport hotel which is a really nice start to the holiday, and ends on our travel back day, the morning of which, I am hoping to find time to check out the two scrapbook shops I tracked down in Whitehorse! Life is SO good. I used Infuse fibres on the book rings which are just gorgeous and I used almost the whole pack!

I can't wait to start filling it. What do you think?

Details of the Canada album

For those of you who would rather not wade through all those photos in the complete album, here are a few of my favourite pages;

Canada

Just a quick post to say that I have uploaded the final (enormous!) Canada album that I have been working on for the last 4 months. I will post a few choice pages maybe tomorrow but the whole album can be found on the right hand side for those who are willing and able to wade through at least 100 photos of my album - I have to admit to being pretty proud of it.

CC always welcome as ever

More Chatterbox

I just love Chatterbox papers so much and think the ranges are so gorgeous - all split into different "rooms" with a different feel to each one. But I have noticed that there are a lot of lovely muted colours included with a great range of blues and greens (sage and olive tones) mixed in with soft lemon or sunshine. This is just my colour palette!

So I was happy to join the latest challenge once again on the Chatterblog to use either Loft, Guest room or Greenhouse. They are not so easy to track down here in Germany so I was really pleased to find 10 papers from the Guest room range and double delighted to note that they were mostly those muted olives and blues that I am addicted to right now! Just cannot get enough of them...

so here is the final result with a wavy design that was inspired by a Shimelle layout featured in a recent magazine. Not much journaling but just a few notes about how much work Ralph had put into the company Sommerfest and how successful it was. You can see how relieved Ralph looks - this was about 2 hours into the party when it was clear that all was running as planned or even better. I was so happy for him...

Stuff!

So here is my Chatterbox prize sent by one of their storytellers, Melanie, for joining her blog challenge. I was totally chuffed to see the alphas and the great blues and greens in the Chateau range of papers! All wrapped up in a ribbon with a personal note card - how sweet is that?

Not much else new on our side. Making the most of the nice weather whenever it hits to take the Lotus out and enjoy the wind in our hair!

My Favourite Things class

Yes, I know, I know - I am totally addicted to classes! I just cannot get enough of them and sign up for far too many. But it is just so much fun to try out different styles and items and of course, the product!

I am WAY behind in my "My Favourite Things" class which is using the Creative Imaginations Narratives range but have finally caught up on the first week! Creative Imaginations has a Bare Elements range which we used for this frame. I messed up a bit with the overlay, but adapted the instructions a bit and am quite pleased with the result!

Heidi Challenge for August

I have been very bad at blogging recently. It is now two weeks since my last post and then this post is to be the same as the last one! But this time, I have managed to complete my Heidi challenge within the week it was set - almost the first time this has happened!

The challenge was to take a photo that makes us smile whenever we see it and blow it up as big as possible. Heidi printed it directly onto 12x12 cardstock and she also featured a layout with the photo printed onto patterned paper. Then the embellishments were to go down one side with a large title along the bottom and making use of a happy colour.

So I tried printed out my favourite Ralph photo (from Nova Scotia last year which has now been featured several times - must find another favourite!) on both textured cardstock in desaturated colour and also a lightly printed paper in black and white. The cardstock version won as the pattern did not come through very well. So I trimmed the cardstock down to cover the photo on the PP so that the scalloped edge would show round the border and therefore blue became my happy colour which was ok because pink would not really have gone with photos of Ralph and green is just a bit predictable at the moment! I used strips of mini photos - all from the Nova Scotia holiday (the strips were featured on the other featured layout which looked so good) of my beloved as my embellishment rather than the journalling spots that Heidi used which brought some more colour to a somewhat paler layout than normal. I used ghost letters edged in blue paint along with some blue strips of paper and a couple of the Creative Imagination stickers which helps to decorate it up a bit and brings some more blue into the whole thing.

It might not be as bright and sunny as Heidi's example as well as many of the featured layouts in the gallery, but it is somewhat more me.

It was good to use blue for a change and it made me realise that I also like this tone. The mini photos of Ralph were such good fun and made me realise that I took so many of him while we were on holiday last year (- maybe I will use some of these for my Shimelle class). I carried on with this theme to the calendar pages with many more of these index prints and some of the strips of blue paper.

I have optimistically entered our Canada holiday onto the calendar and am just keeping my fingers crossed! I am prepared for Ralph to cancel it but if we DO go, then I suppose we will have the best time!