Dolly's Dreamings

Mini book in a boy - 3 in 1

I wanted to share this project that I made for my slot at IACW and today is the perfect day as I can post this in advance as I KNOW I won't get to blog today.

I think I must have a bit of a reputation amongst my friends for the person who hoards boxes of every shape and size to ‘alter’ and transform. One of my friends brought a notelet box in and aid that as it opened in a really unusual way she thought I would like it.

And  I did.

It as a really unusual box – approximately 4 ½” square – that opened by pulling the little ribbon at the corner to reveal three little trays, perfect for holding three little mini books.

 

 

We have three favourite hotels that we have been lucky enough to stay in many times and so that was the theme I went with – one mini book for each hotel.

I made the three mini books as 10 page (5 each side) accordion albums cut from cardstock.

 

 

 

 

I kept them simple but themed each one in keeping for the hotel so lots of pastel coloured tropical flowers for the Caribbean Beach resort and of course playing cards, dice and money for Las Vegas

You can see how the box opens in the picture with the three books nestled in their individual trays.

 

 

The problem was how to decorate the box as due to the way it opened, covering it with paper was not going to be an option. I knew that just painting it would be difficult as the box was very shiny and that paper covering would crack as it had to bend in several places.

 

 

In the end I coloured it with alcohol inks to try and give a sort of tortoise-shell effect using five different colours and building up the layers.

 

 

I decorated the top with a piece of leather effect thick paper I bought a sheet of in Michaels years ago. I added a couple of stamped images and a leather word strip and finished it off with some paper roses.

Finally I printed suitcases on glossy card, mounted them on really thick chipboard and then stuck them to the sides using foam pads.

 

I'm glad people know they can give me their 'rubbish'.

 

UK Scrappers Blog Hop - A Girly Accordion Album

 

 

 

Welcome to my part in the UKS Blog Hop. There are some amazing blogs to visit with such wonderfully creative idea and the possibility of prizes along the way. 

If you are playing along with the hop you ought to have arrived here from sarahjellybean

 

If you get lost or if you have just dropped in and now realise there is a blog hop and you would like to play you can find the full list HERE

There is a great prize to be won if you check out all of the blogs in the hop. You will find the rules in the thread above but basically comment on each blog in the hop and give your UKS user name.

 

 So over to my creation for the hop - a very simple accordion album.

 

 

This is a very simple accordion book to use as a display item at home. I used a Woodware base for mine, but it would be just as easy to cut the squares from a very thick cardboard. If you want it to stand up you need to make sure the card used is reasonably thick and substantial.

 

The step by step here is very simple as the design is very straightforward. At the end of the post there is also a PDF file you can download that has all of the instructions and pictures and makes for an easy reference sheet if you want to create this project. The supplies given are for the book I made. Obviously you will vary them according to what you want to create.

 

Supplies

 

 

• Woodware accordion album (4 sheets of wood with slots pre-cut)  My ‘pages’ were 6” square.
• K and Co Amy Butler papers
• K and Co Amy Butler mat stack
• K and Co Amy Butler chipboard letters
• Assorted ribbons, some of which need to be sheer
• Assorted blooms, stickers, die cuts
• 8 photos
• Journalling pen
• Stickles glue
• Herma permanent adhesive
• Double sided tape
• Sewing machine
• Hole punch/cropadile/sharp knife
• Corner rounder

 

Step by Step

• When making any sort of mini book I find it is much quicker to assemble all the supplies before you start. That way you have everything coordinated and ready and you can complete the book really quickly.

 

• Having everything coordinated means that the book works as a whole thing. It doesn’t seem disjointed.

 

• There are so many coordinated ranges out there that the job is made even more simple, although there is a thrill putting together your own selection mixed and matched from lots of different ranges.

 

• When making mini books I prefer to think of each page as a separate scrapbook page, work on it as a separate page and then assemble them all together as a final stage.

 

• I cut all of my background papers first – 8 squares each 6” x 6”. This meant that I knew what colours my 8 bases were and could ensure they were balanced before I started.

 

• 6” x 6” is a perfect size as it means you get 4 ‘pages’ out of each 12” x 12” sheet.

 

• One of the things you can do to make a book work better together as a whole is repeat ideas and designs throughout. You might want to have several elements which are used on many of the pages. For this book I used doodled photo mats, doodled flowers, glitter, scalloped edges and stitching as my repeated elements. Not all elements were used on every page, but by mixing and matching them you get a cohesive look at the end of it.

 

 

• The doodled mats are simple to do and quite effective when making a mini book.

 

• Cut the mat to the size you wanted

 

 

• Using a black journaling pen draw two parallel lines all round the mat. You are NOT looking for perfection. The beauty of doing this is that it is hand drawn and whimsical. You don’t want ruler straight lines.

 

• Once you have drawn the lines, use the pen to colour in small blocks between them. Again, you are not looking for a regimented design of small small large etc. Mix the sizes and spaces up so it is as random as possible.

 

• Once you have finished your mat add the photo to it and you are good to go.

 

• I didn’t use doodled mats on all of my pages and I did vary some of them using dots and swirls instead.

 

• One of the ways of tying something like a mini book together as a whole is to use scraps of the papers to make the embellishments.

 

• In keeping with the doodled theme I drew doodled flowers for many of the pages.

 

 

• Again you are not looking for perfection. You are looking for a freestyle where petals are uneven and double lined.

 

• Once you have doodled them cut them out leaving a small border.

 

• As the letters I used had little bits of bling on, I added stickled glue to the edges of the petals and to the centres of the smaller flowers. The larger flowers had tiny felt blossoms stuck in the centre.

 

• I love sewing on pages as it gives extra detail. It is very easy to use a sewing machine, but good effects can be achieved with hand sewing and with faux stitching where you just draw or stamp the stitches on.

 

 

 

• Faux stitching is very simple – if you are going for a faux zigzag just stick the shape to the background and use a regular journaling pen and draw the zigzags over the edge of the shape to make it looks as if it is stitched to the background.

 

• Big simple shapes make good background detail to the page. I used circles which were sewn on for several of the pages and also used a large heart which was stitched on to the background paper.

 

• Once you have completed all the pages it is time to assemble the book as a whole.

 

• The album I used had slots cut in the wood so that the book could be joined together. If you are using a book like this then it is much easier to cut the slots in your pages before you mount it all together. I marked where the slots had to be on each page by using a pricking tool to prick through and then cut the slots with a craft knife.

 

• If you are making your own base from thick chipboard then you could punch the holes with a crop-a-dile either before you mount the pages to the base or after if they are not too thick.

 

• You need to make sure that your individual pages are stuck down very well to the album. I prefer to use Herma permanent adhesive as it is just my glue of preference. I lie the page on top of the base as I glue so that I can go right to the edge each time and any spare glue only goes on the base – which is a good thing!

 

• If you have ‘lumpy’ pages, which I often do, or simply if you prefer to use it, double sided tape is the answer.

 

• Make sure you lay the tape right up to the edge of the page as you want a good firm stick right along every edge with no loose bits.

 

• Once you have assemble the individual pages to both sides of the base boards you need to join it all together to make the display album.

 

• I joined mine with ribbons. I chose to use very sheer ribbons for joining the pages so that if they were in front of pictures they would not detract from them.  I used fancier ribbons on the ends.

 

• A good tip I was given, and always use, is that I burn the edges of the ribbons,. I keep a lighter in the craft room and just flash the cut edge of the ribbon in front of the flame. This seals the edge and stops it from fraying and is the most effective method I have found.

 

• Do be CAREFUL though. It is a naked flame and the ribbons catch and melt very quickly.

 

 

 

  I hope that you enjoy making one of these.

If you find these instructions at all useful and if you make one I would love you to let me know and share it with me if possible. Just drop me a line on my blog.

 

If you want to download the full PDF which can be printed easily then you can download it HERE

 

Now - you should carry on your blog hop by visiting the amazing blog of ScribbleMonster

 Remember to comment on each blog in the hop and give your UKS name if you would like to win the £25 voucher that is the main prize for the hop

 

 

Thank you for stopping by and do please visit again. I often have free downloads and classes on the blog.

How the weather changes and a mini marvel

Well you wouldn't beleive it was just a few days ago when it was icy cold and stunningly bright. Today is wet and windy and dark and quite foul actually.

BUT - let's look on the bright side.

It is ha;lf term so the weather can't spoil things too much actually.

Cyber crop is still going c=strong and so there have been a few more challenges completed - and more pages scrapped which are for the 2012 album so all to the good.

One of the things I did get done, though I have to finish the journalling, was a great mini book class. I love minis and there were some nice techniques in this one.

Needless to say I used it for Autumn things from this week.

 

 

 

 

and here is a page I made today too

 

 

and I ought to catch up on the photo a day pictures that have stacked up

 

 

 

and today's is Kira, esconsed on the radiator bed and indignant when woken. You can also see how much worse her eye is - very little iris left that isn't black. But it doesn't seem to bother her.

 

Today I am thankful for

• being inside warm and dry
• great classes and challenges

 

And my page a day calendar is lovely today

One day shortly before Halloween, I was standing in line at the post office when a mother walked in with her costumed four-year-old. The child wore no mask, but her face was fearfully painted; a black cape draped her tiny shoulders, and on her blond curls a pointed hat was perched.

“Oh, my, I’m scared!” I exclaimed. “I had better be careful. I’m sure I see a witch.”

I will never forget the sweetness, the absolute innocence and trust of those big blues eyes gazing up at me. Or the voice that kindly and gravely reassured me, “Don’t worry, it’s just a little girl in here.”

Just a little girl in here. How often I’ve thought of that when having to give orders to somebody … advising a teenager … criticizing a manuscript … teaching class … approached by someone who is obviously timid and nervous, thinking me far wiser and stronger than I really am.

I remember the simple child who lives within all of us behind the sometimes fearful costumes we seem to wear as adults. How nice if we could somehow reassure others as sweetly as that tiny witch did and say: “I really want to help you. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world. Don’t worry, it’s just a little girl in
here.”

Lord, don’t let me ever outgrow that little child.—MARJORIE HOLMES

 

The Big Cats - and the small - of Panther Ridge

I have had such fun today making a mini book about our trip to Panther Ridge.

You may remember reading about the visit to this amazing place here

Panther Ridge, owned by Judy Berens, is just the most amazing sanctuary, caring for so many cats, many of whom had a tough start to their lives - and in some cases many many years that were tough.

You can read about the cats here on their web site and can even get involved yourselves by adopting one of the cats. We have - and are inclined to adopt more!

Anyway, Panther Ridge is just the most amazing place and I hope you enjoy browsing their web site and learning about the cats they care for. There are some great videos on the site too.

I wanted to record our special visit and so made a mini book all about it.

It actually started with an impulse buy at the weekend. I bought a reduced necklace and it came in the cutest box that I knew would be just perfect. The box, just the right colour, measures 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" and is 1  1/2" deep. Just perfect. £3 for a mini book box and a free necklace thrown in too. Not bad eh!

So here are the photos of the mini book. It is an accordion mini book but with lots of pockets throughout.

 

 

 

 

 and these are the pages inside the mini book.

 

 

I am really pleased that we have a record of the day.

Do go and visit their web site. It is really worth looking at and maybe you, too, will adopt one of the cats.

I also used the book as my photo of the day today as we really haven't done much else.

Today I am thankful for

• finding the photo frame I had lost!
• That there are people in the world who work tirelessly to help animals of all sorts who have suffered too much. Animals only know how to love and trust and seeing that shattered by ill-treatment is heartbreaking.

 

 

And my page a day calendar page today is

My grandson, Cameron, loves to play soldier, so for his ninth birthday his mother, my daughter Jenny, decided to give him a military-themed party. The invitations were draft notices and my son-in-law designed an obstacle course for the ten boys who were to attend. My oldest son, Ted, who’d served as an Airborne Ranger, painted camouflage on the boys’ faces, and they ate MREs in the field. (For us civilians, that’s meals ready to eat.) The party was a huge success.

Later that summer, Cameron spent an entire day outside arranging his toy soldiers. When he’d finished, he insisted his mother take a picture, just in case she happened to meet a general. How or when this was supposed to occur was of little concern to my grandson. He instructed his mother to hand over the picture so that the army could make use of his battle plan.

I enjoyed telling my husband about Cameron’s exploits, and I have to admit that we were both impressed. Even at the age of nine, he felt he had something of value to offer others. We all do, I thought later, whether it’s a shared recipe or an unexpected birthday card to a shut-in or even what we’re convinced is a brilliant business plan.

So I’ve made Cameron’s message my own: Believe in yourself and in God’s ability to use your talents as He sees fit.

Lord, thank You for the lesson in self-confidence that my grandson has taught me.

—DEBBIE MACOMBER

A busy day - what with the itching and all

Having had a very very lazy day yesterday, plopped in front of the TV for most of it, I have been busy today as I wanted to make a Jubilee book and get it done and dusted.

So I cracked on with what was actually a very simple little project.

 

I was especially pleased with the cover though. I downloaded an image of a crown from the internet and printed it on glossy photo paper. I then cut it out and added embossed red cardstock for the red velvet. I mounted it on chipboard but I 'stuffed it' with tissue paper first so that the crown really sticks out and looks padded. Well it IS padded.

I added loads of bling in the form of gems and stickles.

 

I was quite pleased with the finished effect and it went on to the pre-prepared cover I had made.

 
It has lots of pockets and tags and I have printed off mini versions of the invites, the reminder invite and the plan. On the evening itself Nij has printed a plan of the street and we got everyone to sign in their houses and then we have printed the plans off (and the group photo) and dropped it round to everyone today so we all have a record of who was who and what we did - which we felt was a really nice idea.

Anyway - here are a few of the pages - not all of them. The colours look a bit off. I used a very subdued colour palette as the photos were very bright and so it is largely Portabello Road and some Dawn Inskip papers and embellishments that I have printed out as accents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today has also been busy dealing with the itching.

We had an attack of the midges in the early evening of the street part and boy did we get bitten. It was one of those freak things and it affected everyone. Nigel has dozens of bites - as do many of the neighbours - but they are very small red pin pricks.

I, on the other hand, react very badly to bites. Always have. Mine are large, lumpy, fluid filled and very painful and itchy. I thought it may be fun to count them as I have rather a lot on my arms, legs, hands and neck. I stopped at 47!

pretty ain't they - especially decorated so beautifully with calamine lotion and tea tree oil.

My photo of the day is of the things I bought to stop the itching - and which don't work!

I also need to share my photos of the day for the last two days as I never did upload them and I would like to keep the blog complete for my own benefit.

 Yesterday's was from the TV and was largely as I was totally smitten by the two beautiful dappled grey horses closest to the carriage. They were awesome.

and this was the one I chose from Monday

 

Today I am thankful for

• brief respite from the itch - very brief!

and my calendar page from today

My first experience of God’s presence in my life occurred when I was six years old. My mother had put me to bed and gone downstairs. Lying quietly on my cot, I suddenly sensed an unusual peacefulness settle around me, and I began to hum a song I’d learned in Sunday school. As I hummed, I felt a love so profound that it removed all fear of anything bad ever happening. Everything seemed at peace in my heart and in my world. That loving presence stayed with me until I drifted off to sleep.

From that time on, whenever I felt the need for solitude, I would crawl onto the tall pile of quilts folded on a chair in the corner of the bedroom and sit with my back against the wall. At that age, I couldn’t have explained it in words, but somehow God was in the stillness of that little room, gently making Himself known to me.

Now, as a busy adult with lots of responsibilities, it’s hard to make time to quiet my mind and wait for that presence. Sometimes I wish I could crawl back up on those quilts and sit with my back against the wall, listening to the rain on the tin roof of our house, and hear God speak to me in every peaceful drop. Stillness doesn’t come as easily as it did when I was young and distractions were fewer, but if I want to know love, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness of myself and others—if I want to grow spiritually—I have to make the effort to rediscover that quiet within.

Father, thank You for always joining me in the quietness and speaking sweet peace to my soul.

—LIBBIE ADAMS

 

Bath mini album - a labour of love

I thought I would share the mini album I made of our trip to Bath. If I am brutally honest I didn't share it before because I hadn't photographed it for the simple reason I was sick of the sight of it.

I love making mini albums usually and this is a reasonably simple construction, but it too me longer than I wanted and I wanted to be doing other scrapping but as my desk was covered with all the coordinating stuff for the album I had to finish it first. And it has a lot of pages and tags to fill

To be honest, now I have gone back to it, it is much better than I thought it was. I absolutely hated it when I first finished it.

So feel free to skip to the other stuff as there follows quite a lot of photos - I think I am of the view that I stuck with it and finished it so I want to record it.

Apart from all of the pockets - there are 4 of those - most pages have pockets ont he pages too and reversible photo mats and tags.

 

 The page above is a map I found in one of the brochures and I drew our route on it so we could look back on where we went.

As mini books go it is not very mini, measuring 6" square roughly

 I used the same muted tones and warm golds and browns to tie in with the Bath stone that was obviously the colour scheme of the photos.

 

 I also tied it together by using the same die cut shapes repeatedly and the same set of stamps and inks on most of the pages. It helped to unify it.

 

 And you learn by your mistakes. The fancy edges on the pockets look pretty but are a nightmare and next time - Oh my goodness do I actually think I would ever make another one!!!! - next time I would punch the inserts only, not the pockets.

 I managed to use up a lot of my 'heritage type' scraps on the project

 

The large beads you can just about see in the spine helped to keep the pages spaced as with the large number of tags and inserts it is very thick and lumpy

It does give a lasting record of the trip. And there you have it.

I have a photo of the day to share which is our clematis which is almost in full bloom and sadly, with the heavy winds we are having I am guessing the flowers won't last long.

 

 Today I am thankful for

• lazy days of scrapping
• watching our birds enjoy their feeder

And I have to share this that Nigel sent me as it is utterly amazing

Enjoy!

 

And finally my page from my one minute devotional calendar today is

Mom’s funeral had been that morning. Now my siblings, stepfather, and I were all gathered around her dining room table, sharing stories about Mom, trying to distract ourselves from the pain of losing her.

My four-year-old niece Kim, too young to understand what was going on, sat in my sister Diana’s lap, a pencil in hand, scribbling furiously in a coloring book. Where did she get that? I wondered, sure her mom hadn’t brought it to the grave site earlier that day.

I sat at the table, too worn out to do anything but watch Kim making spirals in her book. Finally my niece got bored, laid the book faceup on the table, and slid down off my sister’s lap. I looked closer at the page. With the book lying open, I could see it wasn’t a coloring book—it was full of crossword puzzles.

Diana began going through the puzzle on the opened page while the rest of us talked. “Woman’s name, four letters,” she said, needing help with one of the clues.

“Enid,” my stepfather answered. Mom’s name.

I smiled sweetly at him. “I think there are more popular four-letter names than that,” I said gently. “Jane, Mary …”

“I’ll come back to it,” Diana said.

A few minutes later, after she filled in more squares, she looked up from the book. “It ends with a D,” she said. Then she had the second letter. “N,” she said. Finally Diana filled in the first square of the word. It was an “E.” “Enid” was correct. We all marveled at the coincidence. It was as if Mom were sending a message to us, telling us she was still with us.

“Thank God you brought that book for Kim to color in,” I said to Diana.

“I didn’t bring it,” Diana said. “I don’t know where she got it.”

Lord, thank You for Your comforting “coincidences.”

—NANCY VECILLA

Timely reminders

It's been a hard couple of days with long hours but actually both Nigel and I are pretty good about rememberingt he important stuff.

You may recall our very own 'Hello Kitty'. No, not the cartoon and no the CFH haven't learnt to speak ... yet! The Hello Kitty is a very cute chalkboard cat who frequently says 'hello' to us in all sorts of ways. He celebrates school holidays and weekends, he reminds us of dates and times and events and Nigel delights in putting things on there to make me smile.

Tonight I came home and the Hello Kitty made me smile. Nij knew I would be tired and frazzled and so Hello Kitty had an important message. I am healthy, I am home, and I am happy and ... it's Tuesday so actually three more sleeps till the weekend.

So he is my photo of the day. (and he genuinely does stand next to the calendar)

 

I have soemthing to share today I made ages ago (in December) but I never posted it. Pauline, my sort of surrogate Mummy, had had an accident with her Exploding Box. One of the cats had knocked it off and it was severely nibbled by one of the dogs and I had promised to make her a new one. She is Emily and Elinor's grandma (Bossy Nanny and yes we all call her that!) so I wanted to use some newer pictures of the girls and of her children too. She is a very special lady in my life and so I wanted to create soemthing she could treasure.

 

She was thrilled with it.

 I have uploaded a file you can download if you have never made an exploding box and would like to try one. They are really simple, great fun to make and great little gifts.

Download Microsoft Word - exploding box class for blog

It was actually written for this box here which was used in a magazine.

Today I am thankful for

• Nigel keeping me focused

And my one minute devotional today is really poignant and Oh so true again (I am loving this calendar)

Noelle, my eight-year-old daughter, is in ballet class. She is learning relevés, pliés, and ronds de jambe. The little girls cross arms and join hands and then amble left to right and right to left. Tiptoeing, aware of their posture and position, with their heads held high, they create as much beauty as their little bodies will allow. Truthfully, it’s mostly a chaotic swirl of bodies in motion, but it sure is cute.

There is one girl in the class who, even though she’s dressed in a leotard that perfectly matches the others, doesn’t blend in. Lindsey is in a walker. Her hands clutch the handles tightly. Her legs don’t allow her to do even the simplest dance step. She is assisted by a young woman who moves her from place to place, and oftentimes that is simply out of the way of the others.

After class, Noelle sat on the floor with the other girls, chatting, taking off their ballet shoes, putting on sweaters, stuffing dance clothes into their bags. Meanwhile, Lindsey was being tended to by her caregiver.

Today, Lindsey might not have performed a soaring jeté. But in a sense, I think she did. She took an art form defined by the long lines of an extended leg, the poetry of a turned wrist, and a lighter-than-a-feather gallop across the stage, and said that that definition didn’t apply to her. And so, with a piano clanging in the room, her leotard on, mirrors in all directions, girls flowing all around her, Lindsey stood in one place, not moving an inch, and in a way known only to her, danced.

Lord, no matter what my limitations, give me the courage to try.

—DAVE FRANCO

 

An interactive mini book design

It's been a lovely day here today.

Not weather wise, you understand. That's been a bit grey and dreary. But a lovely day none the less.

We headed off to Kingston Lacy first thing to see the snowdrops. We had been going to go the weekend before but the norovirus struck so we never left the house. I am not sure if it was just because we were late or not but it was not the usual amazing spectacle. There were far far fewer snowdrops everywhere on the estate and it looked like they just hadn't flowered rather than they had gone past their best. It was also bizzare to see the damage the recent extreme frosts had done. The Camellia walk, beautiful at this time of year, was quite eerie. There were lots of buds, but the flowers within them looked dead and shrivelled, and so many of the beautiful flowers were so frost burnt they were, in their own way, quite beautiful. They were perfectly formed and not shrivelled at all, just dead and discoloured. I used one of them for the photo of the day today. I am sure this is just the result of temperatures at -8 and beyond, but if anyone is a keen gardener and knows different then please let me know. The photo below was a once beautiful deep red camellia.

 

The good thing about going to Kingston Lacy is that the car''s default way home is past the farm shop at Pamphill where you just HAVE to stop and buy some of their gorgeous fresh bread and cheese ... oh and those coconut macaroons. That was lunch sorted then.

This afternoon I scrapped, making a mini book with a bit of a twist. It was based on an idea I saw on You Tube a while ago which was really clever, making interactive pages that opened and flipped and had loads of pockets and spaces for photos. Each page is made from a single sheet ... well half sheet actually ... of double sided paper. It was great fun to make and quick too - the longest bit, as ever, was finding and deciding on the photos.

 

 It is a little book about our trip to Manchester during the summer holidays, when we visited Lyme Park, Shugborough and also stayed with Sam, Chris  and the girls.

 

The first picture is the first page closed up

 Then the flap and pocket opens down

 and the big picture flips up

 and page 2 opens differently

 and flips up to reveal another pocket page and flap which then folds down

another pocket page (forgot to take this open as well)

and then a flap on the back this time

which lifts up

Well, you get the general idea.

Today I am thankful for

• farm shop produce
• the beauty of nature even when it is unexpected

And today's one minute devotion is very true to life today

I’m afraid I’m getting more stubborn with age. I used to be so flexible—or so it seems—but now I’m always so sure of myself. Not long ago, at a dinner party with neighbors, I heard myself declare with absolute certainty to the woman next to me that a TV show we both watched was about the Korean War. “I don’t think so,” she said. “It’s set during World War II.” I disagreed—strenuously, dogmatically, with no room for argument. Then later we were talking about New York City geography.

“Rikers Island is in Sheepshead Bay,” I declared.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “It’s in the East River. You can see it from the Triborough Bridge.”

“No, that’s another island,” I said. I should have admitted to some uncertainty, but I stuck to my guns. “Rikers is across town.”

Only when I was home did I consult a map. You can imagine how foolish I felt to discover that my dinner companion was right. Not much I can do about it now, I thought. It would have been nice to apologize, but I couldn’t even figure out how to bring it up.

Two days later I was on my morning jog through the park when I saw my neighbor, who was taking a brisk walk with a friend. Now is the time, I thought. Just say it. As we got close, I called out, “You were right about Rikers.”

She smiled and waved. “You were right about Korea,” she said.

I laughed and quickened my step. Perhaps admitting my mistakes is something else that can come with age. Half the time I might even be half right.

Snowfall album

I have been enjoying scrapping frenzy and have lots of new things to share, but today I want to share a mini book I have just finished. It is actually quiote a large mini book but I am just so pleased with it I can't wait to share it.

I have to thank Jane for my wonderful Secret Santa present which included many of the papers I have used. I had some from the range but she sent me some lush papers, lace, chipboard etc from the Bo Bunny set which made this album possible.

We rarely get snow down here - it's always sunny you know and at least 20 degrees LOL. Seriously, snow is a rarity but last year, like the rest of the UK, we were in the grip of a really cold snowy spell with two significant falls on 2nd and 20th December. It was stunning and I took so many photos and just wanted to record them all together.

 

I based it on the album design by Laura at Following the Paper Trail (seriously, that woman is my idol, everything she makes is so inspiring and I just want to follow all of her classes and guides. She is amazing) I haven't included every page - and yes I hear those sighs of relief - but you get the general idea.

 

 The nice thing about the album is there are so many pockets and spaces

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• solving a technical computer PSE issue I was stuck with
• a lovely day scrapping

Completed Journal Your Christmas number 6

I have just finished my Christmas journal for 2011 and have to say I am pleased it is done. I do quite like the finished project, but I have learnt a very important lesson for me. Making it ahead of time and filling it did save time each day but it is not the way to go for me. I didn't like it. I am a make it as I go sort of girl.

I liked the novel way of linking the envelopes, but next year - Oh yes there will be a next year - I need to make it as I go along and I think I will probably make a digital one again.

Anyway here are the final pages. I am only going as far as 27th December. I rarely go beyond this date in the journals.

This is the double page for 22nd and 23rd

 

 
23 was about our first ever home made Christmas cake which we cut into on 23rd and it was delisious

This is Christmas Eve

I love the sunrise picture as it was taken on the night before Christmas but the morning. Gotta love that irony I guess.

 

 

 

Above and below are the Christmas day pages - jopined witha present of course

This is the insert for Boxing Day 'oop north'

And this is the final page - our day at home. The day we stay in just we two is always very special to us and hence the reason it is joined with the little house

 

Another journal complete and only a day late too!

 Today I am thankful for

• all the blessings we have enjoyed during this special holiday season
• the excitement of watching a welcome to your holiday video this afternoon about our trip top Florida.