April 12 on 12

Ha ha!

Going for the easy layout and design... Maybe this will be the same design for the next 12 months, maybe not!

But as Easter was so pink, this was ideal for this month's 12 on 12 and overall, I am happy to have it to add to my album.

Of course, like I said before, I totally forgot about it on the day and remembered two days later! Luckily, we took a lot of photos anyway that day but I am definitely missing some that I would have taken - me cooking dinner, the food, the boys finding their eggs etc. But no worries...

It's done and it is not even May yet!

Sigh...

... happy.

Had a quiet hour in my *local* scrapbook store (one hour drive away!) and made some scrumptious purchases including Wisteria. They had all 18 papers which makes me very happy and I lurve it!

Soft greens, blues, yellows and shades of purple and lilac. Just lovely.

Of course, I got lots of other stuff to make the journey worthwhile!

Pretty papers, MM Paperie Greenhouse goodies, inks and cardstock.

I'm sitting here with a smile on my face!

What's making you happy this weekend?

Pink (of course)

Ahhh. Things are calming down here again after a couple of weeks of rather chaotic days. Littlest brother was staying with us. Not much work you would think. But one extra bod in the house seems to make a big difference and I seemed to spend my days cleaning, washing, preparing food and putting up with football.

But it was lovely to have him here - he is easy to have around and he is such a laugh! He got into all the German trash TV that we are addicted to such as Germany's Next Top Model (go Mandy!) and Pop Idol (shame on you Bohlen for calling Anne-Marie the B-word) - (ok, only funny and relevant if you a) live in Germany and b) stoop to watching this trash!) and entertained us with his rather amusing renditions of some of the *stars*!

Of course, Easter came in the middle of all this and we decided, after a lot of umming and arring, to stay home rather than braving the horror of the Easter weekend tourist traps. So, home it was and I pottered around decorating the place with the usual plethora of eggs and bunnies.


I decided that this year's Easter would have a pink (what a surprise!) theme and even managed to find the time to make sure I actually followed through on some of the ideas for decorations etc that I had had. Yes, I am that type of person who has all the right ideas and gets all the bits and pieces in to do them, and somehow runs out of time at the last minute and ends up disappointed with myself for not getting myself in gear sooner!!!

So, even though I did not manage everything I had in mind, I was very happy at my pinkness that came together at the last minute.

I asked R to organise some flowers for me, pointing out that they should be *pink* and he heard *orange and yellow*! How? Don't ask me. Man ears I reckon. But luckily they know me at the florist and included lots of hot pink for me which was a good coincidence! No thanks to the man ears!

Mum had sent over some adorable Easter crackers which are always a winner here in Germany as they really do not really have any crackers. They know the score now and instantly want to pull them, tear out the paper hat and wear it, play around with the silly toy and try to translate the jokes (sometimes with limited success!). And these were no exception.

There was lots of laughter, a good (I think) dinner, plenty of bubbles to drink and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun - I love these dinners! They really are worth all the effort.



Mum had also sent over some bunny masks which we were instructed had to be worn on Easter morning - duly done and recorded! Catch the much more appealing and sweet photo of the same masks being modelled by Cam, Maddie and Isabella here!

Of course, Easter Sunday was the 12th. I was really excited that this year, my 12 on 12 for April would be Sunday. And was quite excited about this fact the whole week. Naturally I totally forgot on the day! I have enough photos of course, but not the selection I would have chosen had I been taking them all day! Oh well...

So, now it's all back to normal. Enjoy the sunshine and have a good week!

One For The Boys...

Bellaboo did it again this month, producing the most fabulous boy inspired kit for April.

I have had a lot of fun rummaging through some old pics of my little brother (should read enormously tall these days brother) Joe from when he was an adorable little boy! Can you believe that he ate this whole rack of ribs??? Well worth a layout I think!
This one was about him when I left the UK so he would have been 13 and he got into the car I was about to drive over to Germany. Mum and I looked at each other and we both thought what a scary idea it was to think of Joe behind the wheel of a car! Now of course, he is 20 and actually has his own car and I still find this scary but I hear that he is a very careful driver so I suppose I should be happy...


And look at these two adorable little ones! Hard to believe that this is so many years ago now - need to confirm with mum but I think it would be 1991 or 1992. Makes me feel SOOOOO OLD!


Of course, no boy kit would be complete without featuring little Cam - our star! I decided to get the sewing machine out and get creative with scraps. I honestly used every little last scrap with this and now have nothing bigger than half a square inch pieces left which i think is not really much use! I really feel like I made the most of this kit and as ever, it went on and on and on! I still have loads of the embellishments left which makes these kits such good value.


And here are the guys pummelling the cans at the fair - so much testosterone! Even Ted managed really well and won himself a "fabulous" pencil! He is very proud of this win :-)


The kit was so versatile that it lended itself to so many more ideas than just boy projects and I decided to tie it in with the third assignment on my journaling class - telling the story behind the picture. This is one of the very first photos of me and R when we first met more than 10 years ago (yes, we both look VERY young and VERY much slimmer!). Who would have guessed looking at this that 10 years later, here I would be living in Germany and loving it! At that time, I thought I would be going back to the Philippines or somewhere equally as far away.


There was a sweet little Jenni Bowlin mini-book in the kit and I decided to make myself a little inspiration book to store all my ideas for layouts. I divided it into four sections for stories about us, people, places and things (á la Library of Memories) and it turned out so sweet - I adore it. It is sitting here on my desk and I can't wait to actually start listing ideas and stories.


So, if you have not got yours yet, you better go over to Bellaboo and grab one before they sell out.

Yipee, it's Friday again tomorrow - Happy weekend!

Nothing much to report

Just wanted to check in really as I see it is already a week since I last posted although I have no new layouts to share.

My baby brother (at 15 maybe not so "baby"!) is here for a visit right now so that is keeping us busy with trips to the Palm Kirmes (Palm (as in Easter) Fair), a day trip to Düsseldorf, various evenings out for dinner and the joy of football on the Playstation when he gets home from work. As you can imagine, this is just my cup of tea - not!

But we are having some fun and getting some great photos in the process...

BUT, I DO have the new Bellaboo April kit - One for the Boys - in my sticky little hands and it is FAB as always. So obviously Bellaboo and yet not a drop of pink in sight. I am letting my creative juices start working and will get to work on it tomorrow so watch this space. In the meantime, you could pop over to Libby's blog - here - to see what wonders she has been creating with hers. I love it. And I have lots of ideas of how to honour the boys in my life. And also some of the girls because as ever, this kit is so versatile that I will definitely be branching out!

I will leave you with another layout about the adorable Maddie which was completed last year.

Time is rushing by and it is so important to capture their characters when they are at this lovely age.

Making me smile today

are these beautiful daffodils. Warms my heart and brings a smile to my lips.


Celebrating spring and bringing a little sunshine to a dreary Monday!

In the creative department, I have been working through the second assignment for a journaling class in an effort to improve those layouts where the story is more important than the design. Many of these never make it "out" of my room but I like this one and think that it's a nice story that can be shared.

We in my family all miss my grandad. One of the most wonderful, loving men you could hope to meet. I think we have probably all missed him every single day of the last 19 years but we have many wonderful, happy memories of him so I don't want to sound maudlin. I was honoured to spend a day with him on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express on an afternoon's meander through the Kent countryside.

I am trying to improve my writing style and this assignment was about showing the audience details of the day rather than just telling the story. I think I have a way to go but am satisfied with this so far.

This is the journaling:
*************************************************************************************
Do you know what was one of the best birthday presents I ever got? I don’t think you’ll be surprised to know that it was the one I shared with you. You know the one I mean. Our Christmas trip on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Mum bought it for the two of us for my 21st birthday and your 71st.

I remember that we were both pretty excited and I was thrilled to be having this adventure with you. You looked so smart and handsome in your beige suit with your pink silk tie. A really very handsome man, and I was proud to be at your side.

We arrived at the platform and there was a small jazz band playing a welcome tune for us. This was just your type of thing and I knew then that the day would be good. The train was beautiful. Brown and glossy like rich milk chocolate with warm vanilla contrast. You could glimpse through the windows at the charm within – beautifully set tables including fresh flowers. It was like stepping back in time, to a time of glamour and elegance.

We got on board and I caught my breath. This was nothing like any train I had ever been in before! There were plush, comfortable armchairs on each side of the tables that had been set with crisp white linen tablecloths, silver cutlery, and crystal glasses. There were curtains at the windows and the wooden interior was decorated with decorative panels of intricately designed wooden marquetry. There was even a specially designed carpet on the floor. It felt wonderfully decadent and we looked at each other with wonder.

The train travelled through Kent, all the way to the coast and the white cliffs of Dover. We looked out of the window from time to time, watching the December countryside slip by, catching sight of the plumes of steam coming from the locomotive, feeling the jig, jig, jig of the train wheels on the tracks and every now and again, the traditional whistle would remind us that we were on a rather special journey. The gentle rhythm of the movement of the train, the clackerty-clack of the rails, the swaying of the carriage from side to side, the sound of the steam puffing out of the engine at the front, the slowing down as we approached small stations and then speeding up in between. All of this added to the tempo of our day, soothing us with the rhythmic sounds and movements, and time slipped by far too quickly.

The menu was extensive with many delicious courses all served silver service by our carriage’s personal waiter. To be honest, we got a little tipsy and a little bit giggly! We asked the couple on the next table to take our photo and they were thrilled to find out that Grandfather and Granddaughter could have so much fun together. I have just discovered their names on the inside of the menu – Peter and Phyllis Coleman! Do you remember signing their menu? I don’t!

On the normal train going back to Birmingham at the end of the day, I seem to remember being a bit silly together due to the alcohol! We were laughing like children but I think we had moments of clarity when we discussed serious things together. The day was over all too quickly and of course, time has a way of wiping away the fine details of such an occasion.

But this day comes to mind very often as a day of special fun. A day when we connected. A day when we got to know each other a little better as adults, as real people. A day that could never be repeated. A day that has remained in my heart. I may have forgotten some of the details but this one thing I know – I still miss you: every single day
*****************************************************************************************

Keep smiling, it will be weekend again before we know it!

Summertime, and the living is easy...

Welcome to European Summertime - when we lose an hour of sleep but win an extra hour of daylight and with it, the promise of balmy summer evenings sitting outside with friends and family.

It felt strange tonight to look outside at 8.30 to realise it was only just dark. But it's nice to think that we have the whole summer ahead of us.

I guess everyone enjoys this time of year, don't they?

Anyway, I haven't done very much at all this weekend except potter around in my little room and managed to finish two layouts. One of which is my March 12 on 12 - again, better late than never!

A whole year has now been documented this way and I am raring to go for the 2nd! I am definitely going to streamline and simplify the process and think I will go for a single page layout with small photos and brief descriptions - these have been taking me FAR too long! LOL.

Once again, thanks Susan for the monthly reminders. I love this project!

Can't sleep

It's late but I can't sleep. I lay there listening to the sound of rain on my window for nearly an hour before deciding to get up.

Nothing really much to report so I thought I would just post another layout that I did last year and have not yet shown. I love this picture.

So what is up with you?

It's Monday...

Which means back to work, although at the moment, I am feeling a bit unmotivated!

The weekends seem to go by so fast and I am sure we have it the wrong way around - we should be working for two days and then have a five day weekend!

However, today is a good day, today is Maddie's birthday - adorable, sweet, lovable Maddie is 5 years old today! Happy birthday sweetie!

So in celebration of this wonderful little girl, here is a layout I did about her in October last year - I think it has not yet been shown on the blog. Isn't she just adorable? Well, we think so!


And here is one I did yesterday, finishing off today (and slicing into my finger - ouch - in the process) about our littlest brother. He is most certainly not this little any more and I am trying to get some of the funny stories about the kids down while they are still relatively fresh in my mind. Ted has always been a funny little soul and there are really many many stories about him, about things he did or said, that I think I might be busy with that!

On a style note, I have noticed that when I am writing real journalling, explaining a situation or such like, the style of my layouts become much more simple and straight! Seems like I do not have just one style after all!

Have a great Monday and I will try to post again soon.

Welcome back spring!

It's official! Spring is now more than 24 hours old and I know that we are ALL happy to see it!

We have had the most glorious spring weather over the last couple of days - driving open top for the first time in the year, coffee outside on the market square and even an ice-cream in the sunshine.

Don't get me wrong, I was not willing spring to come or cursing the weather every 5 minutes! I knew it would come in its own time and that when it did, it would be lovely. The more rain we have just before it warms up, the greener everywhere will be. But I was getting a bit fed up over the last few weeks of other people moaning and complaining about the bad weather! It started to get me down. I love weather (I'm British after all!) and most of the time, have no problem with bad weather but honestly, the whingeing was really getting to me! So at least, everyone is feeling a bit happier!

The trees are covered in buds and the flowers are coming out all across the city - it's a lovely time of year. My camera has been doing double time - will have to share some soon.

I have had a bit of a lull in productivity over the last 10 days after my incredible output featured in my last posts (!) but completed this layout this evening as part of a journaling class I am doing at the moment. Journaling first, writing directly to the audience.

I have a complete album all about our incredible holiday in Ingonish but have not featured the story of how we ended up booking it - I was planning a "real" beach holiday in the sun but we ended up in NS! Typical of us really!

The photo is not so good so apologies for that but I took the photo here on my desk this evening.


I know that I have some layouts I created way back last year that have not been featured here so I might try to fish out some photos to post those while I am on a bit of a lull in the current work. (Libby - watch out for those, you will love a couple of them!)