52 Weeks In B&W # 18

Snowdrops in my local park.

Royal Wedding - part 2

I confess to watching more of today's ceremony than I intended to - but it did seem a shame to sit indoors in front of the TV when it was such a glorious day.

The pageantry of it all was fantastic and the bride looked stunning - but I have to admit my favourite bit came towards the end of the afternoon when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge drove out from Buckingham Palace in a vintage Aston Martin. And up above them was an extremely familiar sight to my family - a large yellow Seaking helicopter.

Those yellow flying machines played such an important role in our family life for 18 years as Andy worked on the Search and Rescue Squadron - and I have been told that 50 man hours went into making sure the helicopter was clean and shiny for today's appearance.

Skywatch Friday

Season 4, episode 42.

Cherry blossom in my local park this week.

Royal Wedding

I think it is nice that our country has a Royal Family and all the tradition that it represents - but to be honest that is as far as my interest goes.

I have watched a bit of the build up to the ceremony on the TV this morning (hard to avoid it whatever station you tune in to.) It brought back some memories for Andy - way back to July 23rd 1986 when, as a very young RAF apprentice, he took part in the route lining for the wedding procession. He was telling me about practicing on Horseguards Parade and where abouts he stood - seems like such a long time ago.

I like the official engagement portrait of the couple taken by Mario Testino.
























But the one thing I feel about today is that it is such a shame that his mother isn't there to see him get married - she would have been so proud of both of her boys. The same photogrpaher - and another stunning portrait.























This part of Scotland has escaped wedding fever - I have only seen two small bits of bunting and one decorated shop window. But at the end of the day it is a bonus day off work - so I'm not complaining!!

My Day In Photos

Only it isn't my whole day in photos as I hadn't read Monday's prompt in time so didn't realise we were supposed to be taking photos throughout the day on Monday or Tuesday ready to blog today!

But I wanted to share in the fun so here are some photos of my walk at lunchtime. I had parked my car down by the cathedral so after work I was able to walk through the park back to the car. So glad I had my camera with me as it is such a gorgeous day up here today.






































See more snapshots of peoples day here - hopefully they will have included more of their day that I have!!

North Of Scotland Open 2011

A couple of weeks ago Sam competed in the North Of Scotland Open which was held just down the road from us at RAF Kinloss. Most of the competitions he goes too are away down in Edinburgh or Glasgow so we don't tend to go down to support him (to be honest standing in s smelly old sports hall all day on a Sunday isn't always my idea of fun!) But seeing as how it was on the doorstep I thought I would go along to lend my support to Sam and the club.

The competition was organised by 2 of the parents from Kaizen and they did it to raise money for their chosen charities - Help For Heroes and Breast Cancer. They raised an amazing total of £4000 pounds which was a fantastic achievemnt.

Here are a couple of action shots of Sam - fighting one of his club team mates.






And the winners podium featuring a clean sweep by Kaizen winning 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
























More silverwear for his room! This time is was two 2nd place trophies.

It's Monday.What Are You Reading?

This morning I am about three quarters of the way through Vision In White by Nora Roberts which is the first in the Bride Quartet series. I have only read 2 other books by this author (which were the first two in the Chesapeake Bay series) which I really enjoyed. But this one has been a bit slow going - although it is now starting to pick up as we near the end.

Childhood friends Mackensie, Parker, Laurel and Emmaline have formed a very successful wedding planning business together but, despite helping thousands of happy couples to organise the biggest day of their lives, all four women are unlucky in love. Photographer Mackensie Elliot has suffered a tough childhood and has a bad relationship with her mother, which makes her wary of commitment. But when she meets Carter Maguire, she can't stop herself falling for him, although his ex-girlfriend is prepared to play dirty to keep him. Mackensie soon realises she has to put her past demons to rest in order to find lasting love ...
























Next on my list are the latest offerings from two of my favourite authors:
Men I've Loved Before by Adele Parks - I am hoping for some well written chick lit with this one. And Stand By Me by Shelia O'Flanagan as I love a story set in Ireland.


























Pop over to The Book Journey and see what everyone else is reading this week.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all my readers - hope you are having a lovely weekend.

The Easter Bunny was a bit late pulling his finger out - but then he did deliver a total of 8 eggs to our house this morning!!

But apart from chocolate he did manage to bring the boys some new reading material - not such daft bunny after all.

52 Weeks In B&W # 17

The American Skunk Cabbage - taken at Loch Na Bo. This plant was introduced into this country by gardeners - it does have an odd smell!

Thankful Thoughts # 4

Today I am thankful for the safe arrival into the world of my brand new nephew at 0.19 this morning. He is a wee toot of a thing at just 6lb 3oz and as of yet hasn't got a name!!

Not the best of photographs but seeing as how my brother is also a keen photographer I am sure this little chap will have plenty of photographs taken of him.



You can find more about these posta and free downloadable masks and frames of the Ali Edwards blog.

Skywatch Friday

Season 4, Episode 41.

























Findhorn beach with the most amazing blue sky.

You can see skies from around the world here.

52 Card Challenge - Week 12

I know - I'm behind - but where is the fun with being up to date with everything??

This weeks challenge over on the Paper and Ribbons blog was stickers, bright colours and unisex. The papers and stickers I have had since I first started scrapping and I think they are by creative Imaginations - but as you can see it isn't a unisex card.

There is a good reason for this as soon it will be winging it's way down south when my new nephew arrives. And through the wonders of the world wide web (isn't Facebook a wonderful place ♥) I have just found out that my brother's partner is in labour as I type (contractions every 5 minutes!!) so hopefully sooner rather than later (for her sake!) we will har some happy news. I wanted to stear clear of the more typical baby colours for this card so I hope it will be well recieved.
























And here is my winning wedding card from my local crop at the weekend. I did the same design back in October for the wedding of a couple of friends and liked the design. This time I was brave and had a go at heat embossing for the first time. I had bought a second hand heat gun last year but had never used it - after a trip to my local shop for local people I was kitted out with some embossing powder and full instructions from Kate. After some not to successful attempts and a sock filled with talc (as recommended by the very helpful girls over on UKS - it helps to reduce the static so the powder doesn't stick where it isn't supposed to!)I am please with the result and will be trying this technique again.

WOYWW 20th April

It was my local crop on Sunday - and I think it is fair to say a good time was had by all. Crafting, cake and good company - what more could you ask for?

As usual I worked on some scrapbook pages - and as usual I didn't finish a single one of them! I usually leave either the title or journalling (or if I have forgotten an essential piece of stash) I will finish it off at home. Well, that is the plan - but in reality the pages rarely get finished. They get put away in a pizza box never to see the light of day again.

But this time I am determined to finish all 4 of them off - one has been completed - just 3 to go.

I was working on a sketch from Shimelles blog and I still need to embellish the page a bit, add some journalling and a title.





At the crop we have a small competition and this time it was to make a wedding card seeing as how the royal wedding is only days away. I was chuffed to bits to win with my "less is more" card and I won a voucher for my local craft shop for local people!! This is the lovely voucher Erika made - I will share my card once I have taken a photo.



Pop over to The Stamping Ground and see what everyone else is working on today.

Beyond Blogging For Scrapbookers 01

In true style I am already behind with this class as I only decided to sign up on the day the class went live. My track record for actually finishing a class is not good - but spurred on by actually completing Blogging For Scrapbookers (on the 2nd attempt!) I thought I would give it a go.

As you can see from my side bar I follow plenty of blogs and visit many many more - they cover a whole range of subjects but are mainly crafting, books, gardening or baking blogs. I can see from my blog counters (I have one that shows the total number of visits and one that shows how many folk have popped by that week) but only a small proportion of them actually leave a comment. The main reason is probably because they don't find anything in my little world worthy of a comment (I type as I go with not much planning as to what I am going to witter about - my spelling isn't great and my punctuation is shocking so I don't blame them.)

Since taking part in several memes (Skywatch Friday, It's Monday, What Are You Reading? etc) I have received far more comments as we all try to visit each others blogs and leave comments. But if you have visited my blog before - or have found me for the very first time - please leave a comments to say hello.

And while you are here maybe I can pick your brains. Today my youngest son has been involved in a fund raising activity for his school. This involved collecting clothing, bedding, soft toys, shoes etc for Bag 2 School - who in return pay the school £500 per tonne (50 pence per kilo) for the collected items.

I am treasurer of the school Parents Association and we are always looking for new and inventive fund raising ideas - so if you have any ideas I would love for you to tell me about them as we have the Summer fete just around the corner. Our long term goal is to be able to raise enough money to buy laptops for each of the classrooms - we are only a small open plan school and there simply isn't enough for any more big computers for the children to use.

There was an impressive pile of blue bags at school this morning - and here is our small contribution.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I picked up Carole Matthews latest book in the library a few weeks back but it has sat untouched on my bedside table after I read some dodgy reviews about it (why do I do that? - I should read the book first and make up my own mind.) But I am really enjoying it and finding it hard to put down.

What do you do when there's nothing left to lose? Lily and Laurence Lamont-Jones had it all: lavish holidays in exotic locations, a top private school for their two children and a beautiful home in the Buckinghamshire countryside. Then Laurence loses his job, and their house and all their belongings are repossessed. With nowhere else to go, the family move into a flea-ridden council house on a notoriously rough estate and start to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. But will Lily's dream of returning to a world of luxury ever come true - or have her priorities changed? For with the help of new friends, a little luck and a lot of determination she's about to learn what really matters.
























Next on my list are A Season To Remember by Shelia O'Flanagan - I do like this author and love a good story set in Ireland.
























I have also picked up from the library (the teenage section!) the first in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. I have avoided reading the Twilight books - mainly because everyone and his dog has read them along with the True Blood and Vampire Diaries - even though I appear to have a majority of them sitting on my shelves. So I will give this one a go and see what I think.























Please pop over and see Shelia at The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading this week.

Today.............

Has been a good day.

It started by taking Callum to rugby training where I enjoyed an hour and a half sitting in the warm sunshine watching him play - and reading my book.

Followed by a lovely crafty afternoon with some like minded ladies in a village hall at my local crop - 4 scrapbook pages are a work in progress that hopefully I can share with you later in the week. I also won a prize for my rather dodgy embossed wedding card!!

Then it was back home for tea which was a delicious BBQ all washed down by a chilled glass of cider.

Finally I took part in my second blog hop today (see previous post) hosted by Mel - I am still about a third of my way through everyones blogs - but it has been great fun and thank you for all your lovely comments.

A good day.

Alphanumerical Blog Hop - Z

Good afternoon if you have arrived here from Beverley at Be Glorious over in North Carolina. You have now arrived in the North East of Scotland where it is a glorious Spring day.

I'm not sure if I drew the short straw with my letter allocation - or was I just bottom of the pile? Whichever it was I had to put some thought into it and finally came up with Zoo.

A couple of years ago we went as a family for a weekend in Edinburgh (to watch 8 games of rugby but that's another story!) and we managed to squeeze in a trip to Edinburgh Zoo. It was built in 1913 on Corstorpine Hill over looking the city - and rather strangely it is located directly behind the Holiday Inn!!

I'm not a great fan of zoos but this one does have an active breeding program, and biodiversity, conservation and sustainability initiatives. We had a great day out at the zoo and not surprisingly I took plenty of photos.





The penguins stank - but they still parade through the zoo on a daily basis. The penguins arrived originally in 1914 and it was the first time they had been seen outside the South Atlantic anywhere in the world.



This is one of my favourite photos of my boys taken that day - it makes me smile every time I see it - even if they too need putting in a cage every now and then!



One of the animals we saw at the zoo was Mercedes the Polar Bear - the only Polar Bear remaining in captivity in this country. Very sadly this week she had to be put to sleep. She had been at the zoo since 1984 after being captured in Canada as she was a persistent offender and kept wandering into towns looking for food. Luckily instead of being shot she was found a new home at the zoo - with the car company Mercedes Benz helping with the cost of transporting her to Scotland - hence her name. Two years ago she was moved to the Highland Wildlife Park at Kingussie (just over an hours drive from where I live.) to a specially constructed 4 acre enclosure which was built by the Army after a fund raising appeal. She had been suffering from severe arthritis which couldn't be controlled by medication - but I like to think that she ended her days in a place where she saw (and played in snow) in an environment far suited to her.



Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings - and I can now send you on your way to Chatty Crafty Arty Pig for the next installment of this blog Hop. Hope to see some of you again.

Here is the complete list of every one taking part in today's blog hop in case you get lost.

I Speak Melsh
BE Glorious
Captured On Film
Chatty Crafty Arty Pig
Creating Room
Curiouser and Curiouser
Daily Life - Bits and Pieces
Deb's World
Den's Crafty Diary
From High In The Sky
Gallo Organico
Ginger's Life Of Spice
Handmade By Kirsty
Havoc and Mayhem
Heather's Scraps
Helena's Creative Maven
Holaday's Happy Hearts
Jeant-Jinnag
Just Jimjams
K's Crafty Corner
Life...As I See It
{Life Behind The Purple Door}
Lisa E Design Blog
Living Life One Blessing At A Time
Mary's Musings
Michelle Loves...
Obstinate Pursuit
Over At Our Place
Paper Turtle
Peonies and Pennies
Random Reflections
Rosalind Revival
Scrap Dreams
Scrappyjacky
Scrapworthy Lives
Staring At The Sea
Surefiredaisy Says
This Kalil Life
This Little Life Of Mine
Xnomads' Blog

Less Is More # 11

My heart sank when I saw this weeks challenge over on the Less Is More blog - to use acetate.

I have seen some beautiful cards made with this medium - but I think it is safe to say mine come nowhere near that standard.

Firstly I tried stamping onto the acetate with StazOn - most of the images were blurred or smudged so I soon gave up on that idea. Then I used some acetate as the front of my card using a border punch and ribbon to add some interest to it. A punched butterfly and some bling finished it off. The sentiment is stamped inside the card (too scared to try it again on the front) and is from Marion Emberson Designs.




























My second attempt is a teeny tiny card which I am afraid has some issues too. My bird placement needs some work - as does my hand cutting of the cage!


























All in all it is safe to say I won't be using much acetate in my card making (I did run some through the Cuttlebug with an embossing folder but wasn't keen on the crinkly effect I was left with) And finally no matter what I do my acetate never looks clean - there is dust and all sorts stuck to it - not a good look!!