trimmingthesails

My Month in Numbers (April15)

Hello to you and welcome! Up here, I've been working on finishing April's My Month in Numbers, brainchild of the very talented Julie over at Notes on Paper - Julie always provides an entertaining read, so if you haven't popped over, then do :).

It's been fun playing around with the grid format in my This is Life 15 photobook, and a great way of scooping up all those little bits and pieces of life that might not make it onto a weekly or fortnightly page. I could see this working very nicely too for any of you who are doing a paper version of Project Life; as Julie points out in her super tutorial, there are numbers attached to every story. And you don't always need to have a photo either; I've popped in some screen shots from websites in mine. (If you'd like a closer look, click on the image for greater print clarity).

 

Deciding on a format in advance and then just adding things as and when they occur, helped to keep it moving. Which is what I really need to be doing, as my Bank Holiday Brain is only just catching up with the fact that we're sliding into mid-week already! Looking forward to calling in on you, and being back here soon ...

 

Travelling hopefully ...

... as we made our way there, and then back to life here and to blogland. Lovely to see you! Although our visit to the family was only a two-nighter, work and home seem to have generated a surprisingly large backlog of things-to-catch-up on, so my page is a simple one today ...

And I was thinking that we might have Simply A Moment in a few days time on Saturday 23rd? (The Linky will be open for a fortnight so there will be plenty of time to join in, if you would like.) Looking forward to popping in to see you between now and then :).

Month in Numbers October 13

Up here, the colours are bleaching, fading to soft greys and browns, and the sunlight is on a dimmer switch in one direction only. So I'm a little muted this month, for Julie's glorious Month in Numbers, in my Day2Day book ...

Wishing you all a lovely weekend - we have a houseful of visitors, no lighting on the top floor, and a spa experience with two wonderful young women to enjoy :). See you Monday?

Popping in with a card ...

... for you of the postal variety! I am so sorry it didn't reach you before I got home - you know what postal services are like :). Unless it's Julie's of course, in honour of whose lovely current series I am sending this to you ...

And I will be over to yours as soon as I can extricate myself from the holiday debris ... Longing to see what you have all been up to. ¡Hasta pronto!

On a mag jag ...

Magazines? They're my downfall. Home, garden, lifestyle, cookery, sport, cars, yachts, steam trains - whatever is sitting around in the library, the dentists' or the doctors', you'll find my head buried in them. I have been known to miss hearing my name called. Not because I'm reading, you understand; indeed, most of the content passes me by. It's the design that makes my heart skip a beat: flick, flick, stop, stare, grab my notebook and pen, sketch, flick, flick ... This header, In August's The Simple Things, just jumped out at me ...

I mean, how cool is this? Perfect for adding a jazzy touch to an otherwise bread-and-butter page - the sort with lots of photos, and an occasion which just needs recording but without having the red carpet rolled out for it. I couldn't wait to get going in Photoshop and Illustrator, though I am feeling a tad guilty for not being able to acknowledge the designer by name. (Should it be you, and you happen to be reading along, please do email!). Having toyed with converting the shape to an oval so as not to totally scraplift, I realised that the triangular edges of the diamond worked so well with the shapes in my photos that I just went with it, and altered the vertical lines instead ...

So thank-you, talented designer, very much indeed. Now printed onto a single sheet and Herma-swiped, the page has been popped into my Day2Day album. Done. A sigh of short-lived satisfaction, for already I can feel the itch and twitch, the need to feel those glossy magazine pages between my fingers, the hunger for another fix ...  When's the next appointment in my diary? :)

Oh, hold on a minute, just before you go! Just a quick reminder that it's going to be the 15th this Thursday and time for another Simply A Moment: a chance to pause for sixty seconds, look around and within, notice and record. Should you be new to Simply A Moment, or just like a refresh, the original inspiration is here, and the PDF of ideas can be downloaded with a click or two:

Download Simply A Moment PDF

Hoping you will feel you can join us! And see you then?

 

 

A bit of a comic touch ...

 "Comics and bars" -  that's what it was known as in our house. On a Sunday evening, once school bags were packed, shoes polished, and kit sorted for the next day, my brothers and I would settle down round the fire as Dad brought us that week's edition of the comic or magazine we'd each chosen as a regular order, along with a chocoate bar. There'd be the rustling of pages, the scrunching of wrappers and - mostly - silence for an hour ...

I realised later, of course, that it was a resourceful way for my parents to ensure some peace and quiet for themselves, but we loved it. At some point, we'd all swap. My brothers weren't so keen on Bunty or Judy, but the Dandy or the Beano was always good for some rumbustious entertainment ...

I've always loved the look of those comics; and what fun to experiment with making a page with one's own photos! A caption across the top of the frame, some sound and visual effects, the mottled and dotted effect of the background, plus some photos of Himself ...

... hello HalfTone App! Sixty-nine pence well spent. "If I'm going to star in a scrapbook comic", said Himself, peering over my shoulder, "I think I'm going to want some rhyming couplets too". I duly obliged. So for those of you who remember the opening sequence to this story, here is the sequel ...

And it printed out beautifully too. Now, cardmaking does not come easy to me, but I'm seeing possibilities!

And thank-you so much to all of you who popped in for a cup of tea  last week, and to Abi for the inspiration; it was just lovely to see you! And it was especially nice that so many of you shared what you might want to talk about too - it really felt as if we were having a conversation :).

Up here, the glorious weather for a day or two has broken, but I am singing in the driving rain - for this weekend will be sparkling with the sunshine of time with our dearest daughter. There'll be photos! Looking forward to seeing you soon ...

What I learned at the weekend ...

And I think this probably says it all ...

You'll find the lovely and talented scrapper and teacher Emilie Chamel over here - and she really knows her inks and stamps! (And, if I dare say the words again, thank-you to The Simple Things magazine's back page for the design inspiration for the above.) Oh, and by the way, that's crafting friends off- and on-line ... :).

Hoping to be back on Wednesday after the great Unpacking of Craft Stuff, and the gi-normous Catch-Up-Of-Things-I-Really-Should-Have-Done-At-The-Weekend-If-I-Hadn't-Been-Bunking-Off. Oh boy ... Anyone got a few fairies to spare?

Bloggers' Weekend: The Inside Story

Oh, and I hope you haven't been holding your breath too much - I couldn't possibly begin to give the full unedited story! But here are some highlights ...

As they say, you had to be there - but hoping this gives a flavour! With grateful thanks to all the wonderfully creative and lovely people who took part - this is as much your creation as mine ... :).

Bypassing Spring ...

... and hopping straight into summer! That's just what it felt like, opening the wonderful box. There was banner inspiration from Ms. Smith's Telling Tales class, and snatches of stitching, clipping and snipping ...


... and, as a background, the reverse of a very old piece of patterned paper. I daren't show you the right side - it's clear I was not in my right mind when I bought it. And as for the rub-on? A very (as in very) old magazine freebie and a sip of Martini too many with the last slice of the delicious cake ...

Thank-you for popping in, and look forward to seeing you next week after, possibly, more nice things to nibble and (hiccup) a little something with crafting friends over here: no wonder the sun is shining in my world today! And may it be in yours too, wherever you are ... :).

Day 2 (December Days 2012)

Can I be the only one who feels that December is whizzing by faster than any other month? Could time actually be speeding up? And how would we know? All of this was whirling round in my head on Day 2 of my Book of December Days. Along with a love affair with the floral fabric tape ...

It's a three-layered page: the front with two photos, an inside spread with eight photos (see above), and an additional private journalling pocket underneath, accessed by pulling The Back Story tab (see below) ...

Not quite keeping pace, but hoping I'm not the only one. Gotta go - just seen half-an-hour zipping past. If I'm quick I might just catch it ...