From This .........

 

to this......

I've been using up more of the scrapbooking paper kits that I was given back in January to make some more birthday cards for charity. Before .....

and after .....

and finally, a fun Dinosaur card from this pack

Scrapbooking for a change ...

 

Whilst tidying out some drawers during lockdown, I came across these hand written notes of my daughters time at nursery school 15 years ago. I had completely forgotten about them!

With all the lovely photos of her playing, they were ideal for making up some scrap book pages 

These are all 'Work in Progress' - the great thing about scrapbooking, is that you can go back to them and add embellishments and decorations once you have sorted out your layouts.

I've Been Away!

I've been away on holiday with the family to Florida. Whilst I love Disney, the theme parks and and sunshine - I also love the chance to visit the large Michael's craft store in Orlando too!

So when the rest wanted to go to be scared at the Halloween Horror Nights they hold at Universal, I got myself an Uber ride to the store and spent a quite a while wandering around - they have some amazing Halloween goodies

This life sized scarecrow was reduced from $500!!!!

Prices are not cheap any more so I was a bit selective about what I bought, the best bargain was the We R Memory Keepers scrapbook reduced to $4. There are also stickers, wooden shapes, brads, dies and lots of felt shapes of rugby, tennis,basket & footballs for  future men's cards. 

I've now got to get some of the photos printed out, so I can start the holiday scrapbook!

Scrapbooking Mojo returns

There are some lovely 12 x 12 papers in with the Faerie Dust package so I though I would try and match one to a photo taken at the Magic Kingdom in Florida last year

Cinderellas castle at dusk looks fabulous when all lit up!

It also inspired me then to set out some older photos that I've been meaning to scrapbook for ages

These are both WIP (Works In Progress), that's the fun of scrapbooking, you can just keep coming back and adding more til you are satisfied!

The Battle of The Somme - My Scrapbook

Last year my Mother and I went on a coach trip organised by Galloway Travel to visit the World War One battlefields and cemeteries in Flanders - and I made a scrapbook to record our visit.

Thiepval, which was on the news last night, is a stunning memorial to those with no known grave, including my great great uncle Arthur Whiting.

There are so many cemeteries scattered around the area. This is Ploegsteert memorial, where another great great uncle Charles Hollingsworth is listed. He and his brother Fred died on the same day, in the same battle - neither body was ever found. Hitler, Churchill and Monty all fought in this area in WW1.

The main reason we went on this trip was to find the grave of Charles brother Walter who died in 1916 - the only one of my relatives who has known burial spot. This was at a small site in Grevilliers

We stayed at Ypres where Menin Gate is, every evening a small ceremony is held to remember the dead - very moving. James Jolly, another distant relative,  is named on the gate.

One of my strongest memories was of Delville Woods where thousands died, but is now a tranquil wood full of bluebells but pockmarked by overgrown trenches and shell holes.

Another memorable place was Lochnagar Crater - created at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. there are small brass plaques along the walkway around the rim and we have paid for the 3 Hollingsworth brothers to have their names remembered together in the same place.

Sorry this is such a long post, but I wanted to make my own small tribute to all of those involved in the Battle of the Somme. I can highly recommend taking a guided tour of the area. We learnt so much from our knowledgeble guide Mike Peters. He really bought the battles to life for us. There is a bit more about the trip on another blog of mine here

Flanders Scrapbook

I recently took a tour around the First World War battlefields of France and Flanders. I learnt so much from our excellent tour guide and was lucky enough to find the gravestone of one Great Great Uncle and a memorial to another who was killed in the fighting.

I came back with lots of photos, as I wanted to put together a scrapbook and so these are the first few pages - I bought a set of clear stamps from Hobby Art Ltd called Commemorative which are ideal to help illustrate it.

This is still very much a Work in Progress, but at least I have made a start on the scrapbook to keep my memories in. You can read a bit more about the trip and also my  recent craft room injury on my other blog - 50 New Experiences



  

I've done a bit of Scrappin'

Here's something you don't see from me very often -new pages for my family scrapbook.

I don't often feel in the mood for scrapping, cards are so much quicker and easier to make!

But today I have put together a few pages, they are still works in progress - that's the fun of scrapping, you can always come back and add a few more embellishments!

I've been Scrapbooking Today !

Although card making and ATCs are my favourite crafting hobbies, today I felt the urge to do a bit of scrapbooking. Most of my previous layouts have featured my children so I thought today I would find some photos of me and my Mother to do instead. On Boxing Day all the family descended on my house but they all had to bring a home made hat to wear. Mums is made from a blue plastic colander decorated with tinsel and Ipswich Town Football Club baubles. She has has a football season ticket for over 35 years so is a true blue supporter!

The other layout is me with my recent haircut decorated with lots of flowers, ribbons and sparkle!