C is for...

carpet of bluebells..
I've never been one to fully appreciate the outdoors, but since we've had Henry I've really started to notice things I hadn't before.
We often go walking in the local woods and now the bluebells have come out it feels really enchanting.
This digi layout is made from a kit by Scrapbookgraphics, called Dreaming of Spring.
Hope you like it.

Ally

Penguins!

Do you have a favourite animal or bird? I just LOVE penguins. I don't know why but I always have. My children in my class by me penguin gifts, my family buy me penguin gifts. I love love love them!
I was at a craft fair in Braintree back in January or February and there was a decopatch stall there. Have you heard of them? Basically you buy a bare object and special, very thin paper. You tear the paper up and then stick it on your object. They had a penguin there so I just had to buy him and make him.
Here he is ...

He is sooooo cute and sits on my windowsill. It was ever so easy to do and didn't take that long, but the best bit was that I found it extremely therapeutic.

I've also covered a notebook now and am going to cover a heart next.

If you haven't had a go, give it a try.

Ally

xx

B is for blossom

I've never been an outdoorsy kind of girl. I grew up in Felixstowe, which is a seaside town in Suffolk. Being able to go to the beach whenever I wanted to when I was younger, meant that I never really appreciated it.
Now that I have Henry and get out for a walk most days (albeit it's always to the same place), I seem to be growing to appreciate the outdoors much more and am taking more notice of what's around me. This is my second digi layout in my A to Z of photos and is called B is for Blossom. I used a page template from Jessica Sprague.
I'm not overly happy with the background paper. I changed it numerous times, but just couldn't find the one I liked best. I settled for this one, but now I've come back to put it on the blog and looked at it again, I'm not so sure. But then that's the beauty of digi scrapping. If you don't like something, it doesn't matter, just go ahead and change it. You haven't got to worry that it's already stuck down!

The 2 week easter holiday is almost over! Where has the time gone?!!
I planned to do so much and have barely touched the surface!
Note to self - I really must organise my time better.

Ally
xx

Blogging about blogging

Okay, so at the beginning ot the easter holidays I said that I was going to dedicate more time to crafting in some form or other and then blogging it. Have I done that? Well about twice. So I've decided to have a think and dip into Shimelle's class, A Year of Blogging, to see where I want my blogging (and crafting) to go.
When I started this blog, I wanted it to be a place where I could show what I had made. But now I've realised that I don't make things often enough to warrant it really. So what do I want from my blog now?
Well, I think it's going to still be a place to share makes, but maybe also a place to share photos I've taken and just some general musings about everyday life.
Do you plan what goes in your blog?
Do you blog for a reason?

So this photo is one that represents me at home. Laptop is on, crafting tools are out and cup of tea ready (My name is Ally and I'm a cup of
tea-aholic and proud).
This is how many an evening starts off once school work and housework is finished (ok, so that's another reason why not much blogging and making goes on - daily life gets in the way. HMPH). Laptop will be on, tea and tools ready ... and then I start surfing! I normally start by looking on UKS and reading the threads on there and once I start clicking I can't stop. Before I know it I've ended up on the Internet somewhere completely different to where I started, time for bed and no making done!! Sound familiar?

I have no doubt that I will still have plenty of evenings that travel along this same path but I am going to try and be a little more focussed.

Note to self - spend any spare time in the evenings being more productive!

So that's enough waffle from me. Let's see if this at least gets me on a more focussed track. Let me know your thoughts and feelings about your blog and why you blog too. I'd love to know (ok so I'm a nosey parker too!).

Ally
xx

Let's start at the very beginning

So obviously I'm quite late starting this but hey ho. Also, knowing the way I work, will I finish it? Well the betting starts now, how far through the alphabet will I get?
So I've started taking a photo with each letter of the alphabet and then doing a digi layout of it. There is a thread over on UKS for the more determined than me, but I shall just plod along in my own merry way.
I don't have a digital camera so I'm using my phone to take each of the pictures (hence the poor quality - or is that just the photographers skills I wonder?).
So I had to start with A for Ally. To be honest I didn't really want to, because, as the journalling says, I have to be THE most unphotogenic person I know. I HATE having my photo taken, but I didn't really have a choice. So there I am, rough and ready, in my slob gear as normal.
I used a template that was on UKS back in January and then used a kit by Shabby Princess called 'Express Yourself.'
Hope you like it
Ally
xx

I've crafted whoop! whoop!

Well here I am and it has been sooooooooo long since I've been here. I'm fully recovered now but found that I had no energy at all once I was back at school. Crafting has had to take a back seat unfortunately, but it's school holidays now so I'm determined not to spend it all working! So here is my digi image. I've used a template by Jessica Sprague and then used a kit by Dawn Inskip called Heart and Soul. As the title says, it's a layout of my mum. I don't see her very often as she lives in Wales but speak to her on the phone quite a bit. So, hopefully I'll be around a bit more over the next 2 weeks. Hope you like the LO. Ally xx

A walk in the woods

Another digi layout from me, and of course it's another one of Henry.
There is a lovely walk near us where we can walk through the woods. Henry just loves it. He goes off scampering and rummaging and chasing the odd squirrel or pigeon (he never catches them though in case you're worried).

This was a rare moment when he sat still while we were out, so we grabbed a quick photo. I've made the page using Crush by Dawn Inskip.
Hope you like it
Ally xx

Love you

As the journalling says, Simon and I aren't into all the squishy love stuff but we know exactly what we mean to each other.

I made this digi layout using a kit designed by Dawn Inskip, called Crush.

Hope you like it.

Ally

xx

Bath time!

I'm really enjoying scrapping digitally. I'll be honest and say that I never thought I would, but it just makes designing your layout so much easier! I thought I'd finished this one, and now I've put it on here, I think I've decided that I want to move the pictures over to the left a bit...
well guess what? ... when I'm ready to, I CAN! That's definately an advantage for me.

So here are the credits,
I based the layout on a scrap map by Sarah (15-21 Jan) shown on Creative craft world.
I've used a kit called Spontaneous Delight by C Stephens and was a free download from Shabby Princess.

As the journalling says, Henry loves water. He'll jump in streams and play in puddles. But when it came to Si and I giving him his first bath, we were just a little bit cautious as to how he would be. We completely emptied the bathroom and Si got in with the shower. He turned it on and Henry couldn't wait to get in with him! (1st photo). He loved having the shampoo on and being rinsed off, even though he did soak us both in the process!
When it came to drying him though, we had a different battle. Henry HATES the hairdryer. He kept barking and snapping at it. It took us ages to dry him off. I think we have to work on that bit.

Hope you like it.
Ally

Snow time

Do you remember back to Decemeber when we had all the snow? Difficult to forget really. I hate the snow, I hate being cold ... but Henry just loved it.
Another digi layout for you but I forgot to note down the kit I used.
Think I'm getting the hang of this digi lark now, I haven't done any proper paper crafting for ages!

Hope you like it
Ally
xx

Christmas!

Yikes! Just when you thought it was not going to be mentioned again for at least another 6 months, here I am with the dreaded 'C' word!
Obviously it's a LO with Henry and it's another digi LO, but I have to admit that I kind of cheated for this one.
I used a 'plopper' for this. For those of you that don't know, a plopper is a ready-made digi LO that you just have to add your picture and journalling to.

I downloaded this plopper for free from Free Digital Scrapbooking and is called Holiday Joy, designed by Marie Stones.

Having had 3 weeks off recooperating, I'm back to work tomorrow. I'm incredibly nervous, although I don't know why. This will also be the longest car journey I will have done on my own since the accident, which scares me a little. I drove at night for the first time yesterday though! Hopefully it won't be too long now before I'm back and feeling confident behind the wheel.

Ally xx

So this one didn't take me very long to do and it's not my design but I still like it.

Here's Henry

Another digi LO. Remember that I am only just beginning so I'm still on basic steps. I haven't learnt anything new yet from the last digi LO but I wanted to make sure I really know what I'm doing before I move on.
Will I ever really know what I'm doing? ... well that's debatable!!!

So here's Henry again. My lovely labradoodle. Do you notice a common thread with him? Both these pages have been about where Henry is not supposed to be!! He's such a monkey but so adorable.

Hope you like it.

Ally xx

Digital LO

I bought myself a new laptop before christmas and it came with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Seeing as I'm still off work recooperating, I thought I'd have a little dabble. It really is quite tricky, but the more I use it the easier it will get.

I'm following a course from last year over on 2 peas in a bucket called digi 101 which takes you step by step on how to make digi LOs. It was a monthly course last year, but as it's finished, I've downloaded each month so I can do them at my own pace.
So this is the LO from January (I shall do a couple more so I really get the hang of it before moving on).

I don't think it's too bad for a first go.

Ally xx

A card for mum

This is the birthday card I have made for Simon's mum (the mark down the length of the ribbon is where the glue hasn't dired - I was too eager to blog it!!)
The stamp is by Penny Black and is called Garden Gossip. I've coloured it with promarkers and cut it out with a nestie (I so love my nesties!)

I'm going to enter this card into 2 challenges. They are:

A gem of a challenge - sketch

Craft your passion - Button up (use buttons)

Hope you like it

Ally xx

A LO for a change!

So we have a new addition to our family. Say hello to Henry. He is a labradoodle and is just gorgeous. I've never known a dog with such a wonderful temperament. He adores cuddles and craves attention, yet is lively and playful too. We have soooooo many pics of him; he's like a new baby to us!

Look out for lots more lay outs with Henry in!

Ally

xx

Oh dear

I expect you're wondering about the title post. Well it was my birthday on Friday and it was a birthday to remember. I had a very nasty car accident.
I hit the central reservation of a dual carriageway, then the kerb and flipped the car. We rolled a couple of times and landed upside down in a ditch. Both my son and I were hanging upside down by our seatbelts. The rescue services were able to get my son out, but I had to be cut free.
Neither of us have serious injuries, not even broken bones. Ryan had a cut on his head which just needed glueing together. I had to stay in as I've hurt my head and neck but nothing serious.
How it wasn't worse I will never know.

Anyway, the oh dear, relates to this card. I was meant to blog it on Friday and enter it for some challenges, but I was rather busy at the tim. So here it is now.

I have used a Sugarplums stamp called Winter Emma which I have coloured with promarkers.

I am going to enter this for 4 challenges. They are:

Passion for promarkers - Thank you phrase

Papertake weekly - Anything goes

Fab n funky challenges - Anything goes

Totally papercrafts - Say thank you

I've got a week off work recooperating so I'll see if my neck will let me do extra crafting. Here's hoping!

Ally