Chill

Yep. Taking a week off to chill with my daughter. I haven't seen her in almost a year. She's been living in New Zealand but is coming home tomorrow. Yay! So I'm taking some time out just to be with her and catch up. I've hardly seen her over the past couple of years as I moved up to Yorkshire nearly 2 yrs ago for a while and when we moved back to Kent, Jen left for New Zealand a month later. So yeah. Catching up time needed. Got lots to talk about and shopping to be done. Movies to watch and lunches to be eaten. Fab!

Quite appropriate that the photo challenge word over at HS|MS is "chill". I kinda cheated. I actually took this photo (now heavily Photoshopped) last Summer. It's a glass of Mount Gay Rum and coke with plenty of ice. My drink. I love this drink. I added some texture to the photo in Photoshop and messed around with layer blend modes to make it look more "chilled" as it was taken on a very warm, bright sunny day!

Ok - hope everyone has a fab weekend/week. I'll be back next week at some point!
x

Three Days and Counting

Hope everyone had a great Easter. It was very quiet for us. We didn't venture out far as I've had a bit of head cold thing going on. . . ear ache, sore throat, glands all up. . . you know the stuff. So yeah. Stayed in the warm. Finished some bits and bobs.

Got a new freebie added to the store. It's a sampler of one of my digital craft kits. These aren't your normal digital scrapbooking kits. They are square 512px seamless tiles that you can use to create your own papers for scrapping, card making or whatever. The patterns are repeating and because they're much smaller than most 12x12 papers, you get a much more delicate looking pattern. Anyway, they're something different so go download this sampler and give them a whirl.

They are very popular with texture artists as they're great for creating textures for 3d models and so I sell alot in my store at Daz3D. Yep, they're very versatile! I've also done a tutorial for those wanting to know how to create a digital paper using a seamless tile. You can find the tutorial here and here's the freebie:

{image is clickable!}

Here's a quick layout I created using the above digital craft kit. It's actually a re-working of an older layout.

Oh and yes, just 3 days to go and Jenni, my daughter, will be home from New Zealand. I can't wait. I've missed her so much and she needs to be home with her family now. We're all so excited, as is she, to all be together again. I'm going to be taking next week off work so I can spend some quality time with her. Got lots of gos to catch up on!

The word over at HS|MS is "balance". What a word! I thought of lots of things. It was quite interesting... thinking about all the various things in my life that need balance from diet and exercise to work and play and the list goes on. In the end though I photographed some of my lotions, potions, shampoo etc.. for maintaining a good ph balance for skin and hair. Well, so the marketing/advertisting blurb would have us believe!

Perfect Moment

A perfect moment right now:

• snowing heavily outside
• my man sleeping soundly in the next room after working all night
• Easter Sunday
• on my computer creating art in Photoshop
  
• listening to compilation of amazing love songs on my iPod
• so incredibly contented
• just 5 days and my darling daughter will be home

Happy Easter!

Taking a few days off but wanted to wish you all a very Happy Easter. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

x

Nearly A Year

Credits here.
x

Irish Eyes are Smiling

Ok, so I don't have those typical pretty green/blue Irish eyes - mine are brown - but I have Irish blood running through my veins and my eyes are definitely smiling. Lots to smile about:

• had our granddaughter over the weekend - sweet, funny and deliciously scrummy child
• anaemia is lots better
• less than 2 weeks and my daughter will be home
• created several "to do" lists last night for this week - work, general, craft
• working with my hubby
• creating a new sampler/freebie with tutorial
• got good news about some of our work
• flat is lovely and clean - I love to have a nice clean home so feel so great when I do a "deep clean"
• oh and the sun is shining

All good. Oh and the word prompt over at HS|MS is "blanket". I knew straight away what to photograph. This is my blanket. It's actually a "car rug" that I bought from Ikea a few years ago. It's a bit of a comforter for me. My cuddle up blanket when it's cold or I'm unwell. So yeah. Blanket.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
x

Thursday Thoughts

• where's Spring?
• anaemia
• tired
• sleeping til after lunch
  
• friends, good times
• sharing, laughter, tears
  
• day off, no computer
• missing Jenni
• 2 weeks and counting
  
• grateful for my hubby
  
• relief

Days Like These

Spent most of Saturday with my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter and it was utter joy to me. We went for a drive to "an out of town" shopping centre even though the weather was horrific - high, cold winds and drizzly rain.. yuck! But nevertheless we had a really good day. Yummy lunch at a big family tex-mex restaurant and a slow meander round the shops. I bought a set of truly scrummy hat boxes. I'm going to use them as storage for my craft bits and pieces. A bargain at just £7.99 (TK Maxx).

After they dropped me off, I was suitably shattered and spent a couple of hours chilling out with Steve watching TV. I then spent the evening re-doing an old layout. I was never really happy with the original one and so happily re-worked it. This is also my image for "SOS"(show off Sunday!) HS|MS challenge.

And before I go, I just want to say that Jackie totally made my day on Friday with a nice little award. I was so touched. She's been using my digital craft downloadable products in her card/paper craft creations and I'm so encouraged to see them used in this way. Not just for digital scrapbooking but in card making. How cool is that?

I'm passing on the award to my dear friend Dani. I've known Dani online for so many years now - too long to even count but heading towards over 10 yrs. She's always so encouraging and creates such beauty on her blog. I love reading about her homeschooling, recipes, her deep Faith and so much more! She really does make my day every time I visit her blog!

So Dani - this is for you!
Hope everyone has a great Sunday afternoon!
x

2am

When inspiration hits, you just have to go with it even if it's in the wee small hours! I was sorting out my photos last night and came across the ones I took of my granddaughter when she came to stay a couple of weeks ago.

She was really quite poorly and not at all her old self. She was teething and it was obviously causing her a lot of pain and upset. I took this photo of her sat on the chair just kinda half playing and half cuddling her teddy. I just had to do some photo art with it. Another to add to her photo book, me thinks.

Spring is in the Air!

Yep. Went for a good, long 2.5 mile walk today with hubby and it was beautiful. Sun was shining; buds are showing on the trees; Spring flowers popping up everywhere. Was truly wonderful. It did me the world of good. I did have to stop a couple of times as I was out of breath but it's just the anaemia - not enough oxygen gettting round my body so I get tired and breathless when exercising - even just walking. Iron tablets should kick in any day now!

Perfect time to show you my latest sampler freebie thingy. It's a nice little kit with papers and embellishments. I absolutely love as it is so Spring. ha! Pretty colours and textures. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy it. Here's a layout I created of my niece and granddaughter.

Oh and here's the freebie, if you want to grab it:


Today's word prompt over at HS|MS is "badge". At first, I just couldn't see any badges in "my space" and then realised it was looking at me. My hubby's RAF sweatshirt. He was a police dog handler in the RAF and this is a photo of the badge on his sweatshirt. I kinda like it - the blue and gold and the cool looking German Shepherd.


Hope everyone has a fab weekend!
x

Beside the Sea

Steve and I took the afternoon off at his suggestion to just go and take some time out. We drove up to Broadstairs and had a wonderful afternoon out. The weather was quite dreary - well, it is only early March but we still had a fab, long walk on the beach. It did us both the world of good to get out.

Oh and here's my jar in my space for the HS|MS word prompt. I home-schooled my for the last 4 yrs of their schooling - long story - was a necessity due to the crappy education system in Kent but anyway... I turned our dining room into a craft/classroom/study and we would do regular craft activities which they both loved. Glass painting was one of their faves so here's a jar that was painted - I put tealights in them and they look so pretty on the windowsill in the evenings!

Anaemic

My anaemia has returned. Of course. Don't know why I didn't recognise the symptoms. At least I know what's wrong and it's a reasonably easy fix.

Still tired and aching and can't seem to do much for long but feeling a lot better in myself. I even managed to do the HS|MS photo challenge today. Here's my fluff:

It's the hat off my little country "Welcome" wall hanging doll that's in my hallway.

Been working closely with my hubby the past few days when I've been up to it. It's been good working with him. He's such a good "boss" and a great encourager. I've had a few tears and tantrums mainly due to feeling so under the weather but also suffereing from a severe bout of low self-esteem. Doing some 3d texturing has been a welcome break from scrapbook design work. It seems to be working for me much better to treat my digital scrapbook small business more as a hobby at this point - less pressure and help Steve with his work. More flexible.

So with that said, I've just about finished a nice little freebie kit for you all. I'll post it tomorrow sometime.

x

Throw In the Towel

I have dark days. Days when all I want to do is throw in the towel. I don't know why. I have suffered from depression - real depression - not just feeling blue - since I had post-natal depression with my twins almost 21 yrs ago. It comes in fits and starts. I also think it's related to my very low self esteem. I can't seem to rise above it some days.

Today is one of those days.

I'm still feeling unwell. Going to have to go to the doctors which is one of my pet hates. But hey ho. Going to have to do it.

My work is suffering. Fortunately I have the best husband in the world and he's got me working with him texturing his 3d models. It's keeping me focused and busy.

Thank God for this man. He loves me so completely. He's understanding but also won't let me wallow in the depression and pushes me forward to something more positive. But he also knows when I need to rest and just go for a warm bath and then just read or watch a dvd or something. God love him.

So sorry but I'm not up to much today.
x

Insomina

Another sleepless night. Last night we couldn't sleep due to gale force winds whipping round our front door and windows. We live in a ground floor 2 bed flat with no double glazing. Ugh! So the windows literally rattled in their frames. So very little sleep. I couldn't sleep that well anyway due to the ongoing aches and pains in my arms, shoulders, legs etc. It's a lot better but not great.

So then tonight. Well, I just can't sleep. I thought I was tired and went to bed early, read for a little while but can't sleep. It ain't happening so I thought it would be better to just get up and try and do some work or sort out some admin on my pc. Steve's up late working again so I'm in good company.

Oh actually, I might finish a little freebie I've been making.

We'll see.

x