I came across a photo challenge on FB originally today and was interested in the prompts ... The owner had last February and March I think it was and November on her FB page for the challenge. She produces a list of suggestions in advance for each day but also gives ideas for the suggestions. Likes peeps to share their photos either o their FB or Twitter pages etc.
I spent some time reading her blog and the prompts thinking I can do this when I go out for my daily walk ... new year resolution - take iphone for music and camera and walk in trainers with pedometer.
Its taken me just over 2 days to do just under 7,000 steps when I should be doing 10,000 a day which is really difficult when one is a stay-at-home wife!!
The name of the FB page was @fatmumslim aka Chantelle from Australia.
Sunday 30 December 2012
Friday 28 December 2012
Anything Goes CJ hosted by my self ...
The majority of the ladies involved in this Circle Journals were All My Own Photos or AMOP CJ. This suited me fine as I had a large number of photographs to do with my travels around the Cheshire Ring by canal boat I had undertaken in the summer of 2010 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Girlguiding UK.
The basis of my topic. 100 as in the figure or words featured very much in all sorts of challenges that members did in the UK that year and they were held from Sept 2009 to August 2010 inclusive. 5 canals - Bridgewater, Rochdale, Ashton & Peak Forest, Shroppie Union and Trent & Mersey plus almost 90 locks and 100 miles.
I was one of the core staff for the whole of the trip with another 2 members but we started off with a full boat and then a couple left in Manchester and one joined further on plus a couple somewhere else and then the majority left on the Sunday night and there were just 3 and then one more joined us at Barbridge and then 2 more along the Trent & Mersey and then it was back to base! 12 berth 70 footer narrowboat known as "New Horizons" and it certainly was new horizons for some of us ... hence my many photos too!
I had hoped to join someone else's CJ but just ran out of time with life in general and sorting all the photographs out but a year later I fancied hosting a CJ . Hence "Anything Goes" was chosen by one of the other journallers and it ended up that the majority of us were featuring our own photographs in CJs. We spent about 6 weeks between us putting our CJs together ..
With the increased cost of postage, alot of thought went into how the journals would be presented and sent via the post and how to keep the costs down. Some have sent journals in plastic wallets tied together with ribbon only which is a shame really as you don't get to see their covers. Some ask you to sign your artwork on the back of your efforts or others ask you to sign a tag or stamp at the back of the CJ.
We eventually set off with 15th October being the starting date and the aim is to have all journals back before end of August 2013, as one of the ladies was making a small present for her parents wedding anniversary. Although we were not going to have an actual christmas posting we did use an early December posting but then most peeps have until 15th January to get the next one out. Needless to say I am always last minute - like with this blog - I update every so many weeks ...
This is the start of my CJ. As the ring was an actual ring I decided to go with a Circle Journal - I had one ready made but added extra pages to it and replaced the ring in it with an even larger ring and then decided to use an extraordinatry amount of ribbon to keep the journal together as I had put the photos in envelopes into days of the week but in some days of the week there were extra photos so the rules were just to choose one incident in the days of the week! Sounds complicated? Yes my first journaller didnt actually know what to do ....
Front cover
This is the back page where I want everyone to sign in. I've cut out a map of England, Wales and Scotland basically and attached some brads and twine and I've worked out a journey ring of where the CJ will travel to and then back to me. Most of the participants are actually in the South of England with a couple in North West England so it should be almost a ring when it returns to me next Summer.
I managed to work out from when the photos were uploaded what days the photos were taken and examined everyone of them to ensure I wanted them, made a short list and then checked them again when I uploaded the photos to Costco photo print centre before buying the images. I realised I couldnt have too many photos for one chapter ie a day and I tried to work out what part of the day it was when the photograph was taken eg morning, lunch, evening etc. Harder work to do I felt with AMOP than I had anticipated!
In return ... I have completed "Lavender & Lace" from uks Crackerjack Sandra Dawson from Norfolk. This is the November entry.
Its really hard to be the first person
The basis of my topic. 100 as in the figure or words featured very much in all sorts of challenges that members did in the UK that year and they were held from Sept 2009 to August 2010 inclusive. 5 canals - Bridgewater, Rochdale, Ashton & Peak Forest, Shroppie Union and Trent & Mersey plus almost 90 locks and 100 miles.
I was one of the core staff for the whole of the trip with another 2 members but we started off with a full boat and then a couple left in Manchester and one joined further on plus a couple somewhere else and then the majority left on the Sunday night and there were just 3 and then one more joined us at Barbridge and then 2 more along the Trent & Mersey and then it was back to base! 12 berth 70 footer narrowboat known as "New Horizons" and it certainly was new horizons for some of us ... hence my many photos too!
I had hoped to join someone else's CJ but just ran out of time with life in general and sorting all the photographs out but a year later I fancied hosting a CJ . Hence "Anything Goes" was chosen by one of the other journallers and it ended up that the majority of us were featuring our own photographs in CJs. We spent about 6 weeks between us putting our CJs together ..
With the increased cost of postage, alot of thought went into how the journals would be presented and sent via the post and how to keep the costs down. Some have sent journals in plastic wallets tied together with ribbon only which is a shame really as you don't get to see their covers. Some ask you to sign your artwork on the back of your efforts or others ask you to sign a tag or stamp at the back of the CJ.
We eventually set off with 15th October being the starting date and the aim is to have all journals back before end of August 2013, as one of the ladies was making a small present for her parents wedding anniversary. Although we were not going to have an actual christmas posting we did use an early December posting but then most peeps have until 15th January to get the next one out. Needless to say I am always last minute - like with this blog - I update every so many weeks ...
This is the start of my CJ. As the ring was an actual ring I decided to go with a Circle Journal - I had one ready made but added extra pages to it and replaced the ring in it with an even larger ring and then decided to use an extraordinatry amount of ribbon to keep the journal together as I had put the photos in envelopes into days of the week but in some days of the week there were extra photos so the rules were just to choose one incident in the days of the week! Sounds complicated? Yes my first journaller didnt actually know what to do ....
Front cover 
This is the back page where I want everyone to sign in. I've cut out a map of England, Wales and Scotland basically and attached some brads and twine and I've worked out a journey ring of where the CJ will travel to and then back to me. Most of the participants are actually in the South of England with a couple in North West England so it should be almost a ring when it returns to me next Summer.
I managed to work out from when the photos were uploaded what days the photos were taken and examined everyone of them to ensure I wanted them, made a short list and then checked them again when I uploaded the photos to Costco photo print centre before buying the images. I realised I couldnt have too many photos for one chapter ie a day and I tried to work out what part of the day it was when the photograph was taken eg morning, lunch, evening etc. Harder work to do I felt with AMOP than I had anticipated!
In return ... I have completed "Lavender & Lace" from uks Crackerjack Sandra Dawson from Norfolk. This is the November entry.
Its really hard to be the first person
on a CJ for someone as I think everyone likes to look what others have done before them to give an idea of maybe how to "go with the flow" as one might say. These were old aged photos of children and the backing papers are from really old stash that shouts out to me "ye olde", the vase and basket are actual sizzix dies, added silk heather to the vase and felt flowers to the basket that compliments each photograph I feel - and hope if Sandra is viewing this - she approves!
The above is Carpenters' Garden by uks Daisy M - Shirley I think from memory who also lives in Norfolk too and is friends with Crackerjack. I am assuming that they have just exchanged CJs as they both joined as friends with Sadie Girl also from - yes you are right ... Norfolk again!
For this page I interpreted the back ground onto the actual cardstock to showcase the beautiful photographs. The left hand side of the journal features a die cut home with a waggon die cut and the backing cardstock is an embossed tree bark (one of Tim Holtz' folders) used on co-ordination paper where one sandpapers the cardstock to show the inner core of the paper. The right hand side features Tim Holtz folder again showing brickwork which has been very lightly inked. The three leaf shamrock under the photo was to signify good luck. The number of the house is on this photograph so I added the rest of the address Carpenter's Arms in sticky cardboard alpha font. Just seemed appropriate!
Wednesday 26 December 2012
As You Like It CJ hosted by uks HL Caroline
Pauline Davidson theme "10 Simple Pleasures" in September 2012
Pauline's theme was about lists ... these are die cut flowers that I bought off an auction site many moons ago .....!
Emma uks Cosmic theme was on music and "J'adore .." had to be mentioned in one's layout ... October 2012. This was mine. Elaine Paige radio show to do with musical shows ...
I've added mini posters from the shows that Elaine Paige sung in on the left hand side and one of my cotton twill printed messages across the top depicting musical notes and a small heart die cut at the bottom. Right hand side, another printed ribbon with Love on repeatedly ... About Elaine and her show and what her past jobs were ...
Sarah uks stillcrafting and her theme was "what makes me smile ..." my entry was about the 2 packets of six in each of mousetraps I received from the famous auction selling site. I knew I would receive more than one, but didnt register exactly how many more - TWELVE!! I wanted at least two so I could take part in the mouse trap altered art on uks next January 2013.
The swap is to be hosted by Chrissie uks Xmasbaby along the lines of an article featured in Craft Stamper mag on an altered rat trap which has enthused some of us to take part in a direct swap
created by SLewis. She has a blog and I will upload the address of it for others who may be interested .... Rat traps are alot bigger than mouse traps as I realised when I took delivery of my mousetraps!
Gingerbread theme
Last weekend in November I and my leaders took some of our guides away for the weekend. It is usual practice to take girls away for the weekend and have a theme. All activities and crafts have a link to the theme. Ours was Christmas and we decided that Friday evening would be Christmas Eve ..........
...... preparing the tree and decorating it, putting the room decorations up which were making paperchains and decorating their christmas stockings which us leaders would fill with little presents, chocolate and sweets later on when they were in bed! Our actual guider in charge hoped for 10 pm but we all laughed at her suggestion and it was more like 11.30 pm before the last one dropped off!
Saturday was Christmas Day,
...... so after a hearty breakfast and tidying up, there was a treasure hunt around the house and gardens and as cooks, we had been primed that there would be someone calling in at the kitchen to ask for a clue ... then it was hot drinks and christmas stockings given out. The girls had work books with a diary challenge and puzzles to fill in. Some of the girls were using the residential weekend as a new experience for their Baden Powell Award so they were reminded that they needed to fill the books in and keep as their evidence!
They also had a felt diecut gingerbread man to put together with blanket or overhand stitch, fill his tummy with hearts and pad him lightly to become a tree decoration. Slightly ambitious project when so many of them were unable to thread a needle and keep the thread on the needle unknotted! Here's one that needed help ...
Lunch later and then it was the Gingerbread Challenge. The real one that is. One of the older guides had made some gingerbread dough in the morning. It was divided between the three groups and they were given the instructions with templates to make a house, get it cooked it the kitchen and then later on they were to be glued and decorated!
It was a work of art trying to cut the templates out and then get them cooked in between making christmas dinner - luckily we had 2 commericalised ovens in the Centre we were staying at. One oven was given over to the cooking and timing of the various templates of dough, 2 x wall sides, front of house, back of house and roof, etc for each three groups. Eventually the 2nd oven was free and we were using that one too ... the dough all had to cooked on the same shelf at the same temperature so it took us a good 2-3 hours to get everything cooked plus the dinner too.
Eventually the dough was done much to our relief and we could concentrate on getting the dinner out and served ...
Sunday - Boxing Day
Most of the morning was spent in putting the Gingerbread Houses together. Three were made and they all stayed upright long enough for photographs to be taken and then apparently two of them fell .... But here is the one that managed to stay upstanding to the end!
and then all too soon, it was time to pack up and go home.
...... preparing the tree and decorating it, putting the room decorations up which were making paperchains and decorating their christmas stockings which us leaders would fill with little presents, chocolate and sweets later on when they were in bed! Our actual guider in charge hoped for 10 pm but we all laughed at her suggestion and it was more like 11.30 pm before the last one dropped off!
Saturday was Christmas Day,
...... so after a hearty breakfast and tidying up, there was a treasure hunt around the house and gardens and as cooks, we had been primed that there would be someone calling in at the kitchen to ask for a clue ... then it was hot drinks and christmas stockings given out. The girls had work books with a diary challenge and puzzles to fill in. Some of the girls were using the residential weekend as a new experience for their Baden Powell Award so they were reminded that they needed to fill the books in and keep as their evidence!
They also had a felt diecut gingerbread man to put together with blanket or overhand stitch, fill his tummy with hearts and pad him lightly to become a tree decoration. Slightly ambitious project when so many of them were unable to thread a needle and keep the thread on the needle unknotted! Here's one that needed help ...
Lunch later and then it was the Gingerbread Challenge. The real one that is. One of the older guides had made some gingerbread dough in the morning. It was divided between the three groups and they were given the instructions with templates to make a house, get it cooked it the kitchen and then later on they were to be glued and decorated!
It was a work of art trying to cut the templates out and then get them cooked in between making christmas dinner - luckily we had 2 commericalised ovens in the Centre we were staying at. One oven was given over to the cooking and timing of the various templates of dough, 2 x wall sides, front of house, back of house and roof, etc for each three groups. Eventually the 2nd oven was free and we were using that one too ... the dough all had to cooked on the same shelf at the same temperature so it took us a good 2-3 hours to get everything cooked plus the dinner too.
Eventually the dough was done much to our relief and we could concentrate on getting the dinner out and served ...
Sunday - Boxing Day
Most of the morning was spent in putting the Gingerbread Houses together. Three were made and they all stayed upright long enough for photographs to be taken and then apparently two of them fell .... But here is the one that managed to stay upstanding to the end!
and then all too soon, it was time to pack up and go home.
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