And as quickly as it's begun...

... this particular journey is coming to an end.  My marathon journey, that is.  And only for the time being, I'm definitely not done with it. However, my hamstring injury is not healing as fast as expected, and even though some people are saying that I could still do it, I don't want to. I don't want to have to push and feel the pressure of time, I want to actually enjoy the journey - as much as that is possible ;-) So I'm going to focus on healing and looking after myself for now.
I'm also going to focus on my family. There's stuff going on with one of my girls, and we're not sure what it is, but it is making life a little challenging. So it is probably for the best that I'm not out running all the time, stressing about fitting my training in, but instead being available for this really pretty amazing kid who's having a tough time.

I will try and keep popping in here from time to time if and when I've got crafty stuff to share, and I shall leave with a picture of a cheery, colourful crochet mandala: 

This was made for Yarndale, following Lucy's (Attic24) call to crochet mandalas for a wall display at this year's festival.  The response has been amazing, there are several boards on Pinterest showcasing the mandalas that have arrived from all over the world - pure colour joy and inspiration! :)
Thanks for stopping by!

Best laid plans and all that...

I had the best intentions, as usual, to post more regularly... In my defence, things are slightly topsy-turvy here at the moment! ;-)  Eldest daughter is in S4 at high school and currently sitting the new National 5 exams. This means that her schedule is rather erratic - some days she is in school actually sitting exams, some days she's in school for an immersion day (intensive revision) and yet other days she's at home, (supposedly) revising.  Add to that the spring Bank Holiday weekend with two days off for the other two, a podiatrist appointment in town for yours truly, frequent trips to the gym - and what little routine I have during the week went completely out of the window!

This also means that I have only got one PAD contribution (for both Day 4 - Us and Day 5 - 4pm) to share for the whole week - tut tut! On Monday, hubby and I went on a wee excursion to Falkirk, to look at The Kelpies - recently unveiled, huge sculptures of horses' heads. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but I was fairly impressed in the end!  The size of the sculptures is rather awe-inspiring, and I think they look quite attractive, too :)

As regards my marathon journey, today marks the official start date of my 20-week training programme. However, instead of lacing up my running shoes and pounding the pavement for 4 miles, I have been to the gym again, following my recovery programme. It is a little frustrating, but recovery and healing is what I need to focus on just now.  There is light at the end of the tunnel: the podiatrist, who I saw last week, fitted me with orthotic insoles and said I should try short warm-up running exercises and maybe a very short and gentle run.  So far, I haven't dared, for fear of making things worse, but I will give it a go tomorrow morning.  Fingers crossed!!
Also, you might be glad to hear that the foam roller and I haven't completely fallen out but are in the process of making up ;-) Things are getting ever so slightly easier and ever so slightly less painful :)  Baby steps, people, baby steps!

Back already!

Just in case you missed me ;-) Today's prompt for FMS Photo-A-Day is "Snack":

Cashews have always been a favourite of mine, and I'm trying to opt for nuts and fruit more and more in an effort to improve my diet.  Another journey, on which I had come quite far until last autumn, and then started walking backwards. Right now, I think it's a case of three steps forward, two steps back...

There's nothing much to tell regarding my main journey, my marathon journey, only that my new best friend, the foam roller, and I are going to fall out very soon, of that I'm sure! He's no friend - he is pure torture! I had no idea how sore parts of me could feel under his pressure, parts that I'm normally not aware of at all. Rolling up and down the side of my thigh, wincing, and eldest  daughter declares me crazy, because I am willingly putting myself through this. I can only hope that the old saying of "No pain no gain" will hold true...

On a totally unrelated note, here's some crochet spring prettiness :)

 

The wee mandala was made following Barbara's pattern here.  I've always thought it's really pretty and finally got round to making my own one.  Looks nice under the vase of tulips, too!

New Beginnings?

It seems to be time for a fresh start.  This blog has been too quiet for too long. And now I'm embarking on a new, exciting and rather scary journey, which makes me think I should maybe journal and document it here and thereby hold myself accountable!  Well, I'm going to give it a right good go at least!!!

So, my new journey will be training for my first ever marathon! I am both hugely excited and utterly terrified! I have signed up for the Loch Ness Marathon at the end of September, and training is due to start a week on Monday.  BUT...  I have gone and injured myself, strained my hamstring...  And I haven't run in nearly two weeks, and my leg hurts.  I have had sports massage, I will go and see a podiatrist, I have joined a new gym, I'm applying ice packs daily and the foam roller is my new best friend. 
Today, I decided, is going to be the start of my journey.  Not a week on Monday, or two weeks on Monday, whenever I start running again, but today, when I went to the gym for a training programme and had exercises worked out for me to help along my recovery.  It's all part of the process.  (Plus, it's the first of May, which fits with new beginnings rather neatly :))

I'm also going to try and play along with Fat Mum Slim's Photo-A-Day Challenge, to help document and share my journey.  Today's prompt:
Begins with J... - you guessed: JOURNEY ;-)

So here's to new beginnings, and exciting journeys.  And probably some of the good old crafty stuff thrown in for good measure ;-)

Project Life - Week 3

Right, so the spread for week 3 is finished and I'm about to put together the spread for week 4, and that's January pretty much finished, I can't believe it!  Christmas seems like a dim and distant memory, and the new year has definitely gathered momentum, we're back into our routines and are looking forward to things to come over the next few months.

So, without further ado, here's a glimpse into my little world:

 

As you can see, I managed to knit myself a cheery yellow hat as well, here's a close-up:

It's definitely been hat weather here, with all the snow and ice we've had, but then, by Sunday morning, it's was all gone, as if by magic, and the rain and the winds have come back. We are lucky where we live, we haven't been affected by flooding yet, but my heart goes out to those who are suffering from it right now.

Well, that's it for now, I am taking a couple of hours out now to work on week 4, and I will greatly enjoy myself :) Thanks for stopping by!

Project Life - Week 2

Swiftly moving on from my last post, here is my PL spread for Week 2. This one has quite a few more photos - well, I guess there will be weeks that are more photo-heavy, while others will have more journaling or embellishments.  And that will be just fine :)

Short and sweet, must see to children, they seem to think they can stay up all night just because it's Friday.  Have a good weekend!

Happy New Year!

Hello, lovely people, how are you all? I hope everybody had a lovely Christmas and a good start to the New Year!
I know I've been the world's most awful blogger, somehow, I never really got into the groove last year. But I've started 2013 re-energised, with lots of inspiration for all sorts of things, in all areas of my life. I'm feeling excited! I don't know why, I don't usually experience this, but there it is :)

If you've come here before, you may have noticed a slight shift in crafty activity over the last year or so (well, in the few posts that there were...). My cardmaking has taken a bit of a back seat to woolly crafts, and for a while, jewellery making as well. I'm still making cards, just not as much. Instead, more time has been spent crocheting and knitting, and I even joined a knitting group! I go every fortnight, and it's a lovely, guilt-free morning, because the time is set aside for it especially and not snatched here or there, when I should really be doing something else...

And now there's another shift on the cards (oops - no pun intended!): on Saturday, I took delivery of a beautiful, bright orange album, with a big box of divided page protectors and tiny little box of journaling cards... 
 

Yes, I am attempting to undertake PROJECT LIFE! I've really been wanting to do a little more scrapbooking lately, and the concept of PL really appeals to me. Now, I don't have the best track record when it comes to staying power, but here's hoping :)  I really enjoyed putting together the title page and the spreads for the first two weeks - I'm caught up, yay!!

Here's my title page:

And here is the spread for the first week:

 

 

I'm having a lot of fun with this! :)  The only trouble is that I'm not used to taking a lot of pictures, and my kids aren't best pleased with having a camera pointed at them constantly ;-) Never mind!

I have even set up a wee station with my most commonly used supplies and I'm enjoying the colourfulness of it every time I look at it:

 

 

 

Well, so much for now, I'll be back with Week 2 very soon, thanks for looking!



Some Woolly Goodness

Even though we're now into May, we're still in need of little woolly warmers on the way to school in the morning. It may not be the full hat-scarf-gloves combo anymore, but I have been appreciating my little cowl:

And youngest daughter has been grateful for her headband, which also keeps her ears warm ;-)

These were both made with Cascade wool I received in my swap last year from the lovely Amy - glad I finally got to make something with it, even if we're supposed to be well into spring...  Scottish weather, cannae beat it!

Forrays into Jewellery Making

A wee while ago, I was bitten by the bracelet bug :)  Could not stop making bracelets, I think all the girls' friends received bracelets as Christmas presents!  When I found that Shamballa-style bracelets were made with a macramee knot I had learned in the 70's, I was delighted and churned out one friendship bracelet after the other, with the waxed cord I'd bought on a whim some time ago. On my birthday, I treated myself to a few nice, big glass beads and made this:

And then I bought a few sparkly, disco-ball beads, and made this:

The beads are lovely and sparkly, and eldest daughter has already borrowed this bracelet to wear to school, which, considering she is a teenager, is praise indeed :) I've had to order more beads, so the girls can all have their own bracelet...


Finally, a bracelet made not by me, but by youngest daughter (age 7), for her best friend's birthday:

She chose the beads, the colours, and made it all by herself (I just helped with the sliding knot closure) - I was very impressed!! :)

So much for today, a different craft coming next time.  Thanks for looking!

Let's see...

... what's been going on around here!  It seems to be pretty darn impossible to get back into a reasonable blogging rhythm, but I've been feeling "the urge" a bit more lately!  We've been having computer problems, so that even made keeping up with my favourite blogs difficult, never mind writing my own posts. But, like I said in my last post, I am still making stuff, so I'm going to have a dig around and see what I can show :)

A birthday card for middle daughter's friend:

Middle daughter had shown me a drawing by her friend, so this seemed to be the right type of card for her.  I used one of my Gorjuss Girl stamps, some Basic Grey papers, my trusty water colour pencils and a few flowers and buttons from my stash.

Next up, a girly birthday card (which is always useful in a house with 3 girls!):

Then, a Big Sister card, commissioned by a friend:

 

I dug out my SugarNellie Maggie stamp - she's a ballerina, but she also looks to me like she's saying: look how big I am! ;-) The papers are Stampin' Up! from quite a few years ago, the name is computer-printed.

And the associated New Baby cards (prepared for all eventualities!):

I saw these adorable baby stamps by Lilly of the Valley in a magazine and simply could not resist.  Hadn't bought any stamps in a while, but these just shouted out to me "buy me!!!"

So there we are, quite a few cards made recently!  Next time, I'll share a few other things I've made recently - till then, thanks for stopping by!

Still here...

Yup, I'm still around!  And I'm still making stuff, only I don't seem to be finishing things, or if I do, I forget to take pictures :( So there's not been an awful lot to blog about, seeing this is mainly a crafty kind of blog.
However, I've been organising the photos on my laptop recently and came across a few cards that I hadn't posted yet.  Better than nothing, right?

From October, here are a couple of cards going back to October, made as a commission for a friend's husband's birthday:

This card was actually inspired by the birthday cake at the party - thankfully the big day was a couple of days later! ;-)  Yes, I guess the birthday had a bit of a curling theme :)

This card is based on a design I kept from a magazine, since I always struggle with men's cards.  Glad I kept it, really enjoyed making this design!

Then, from December, a couple of cards for the same friend, whose daughter turned 18 (aargh! I remember her as a wee 8 year old!!!):

One card from the proud parents, one from the (mostly) adoring sisters, both on the brief of "black and pink".

And finally, not a commission, but for my friend herself :)

Birthday card and matching gift wallet, made with Stampin' Up! specialty papers - the damask pattern is flocked and very strokeable ;-)

Card only - very similar to this card from just over a year ago, when my friend said: "I want one like that for my 40th!"

Well, here you go, a small sampling of what I've been up to.  I've also been knitting and crocheting, but with very few finished items to show for it - startitis, I think, some people call it! ;-)

Other than that, things in my little corner of Scotland are just ticking over quite nicely now.  For some reason, I got phenomenally stressed before Christmas, far more than normal, but I have recovered now and have embarked on a journey of decluttering and organising my house.  It's slow going, but changes have been made :)  As part of this, eldest daughter has now moved into a new bedroom downstairs (formerly the playroom aka dumping ground...), so that middle and youngest daughters both get their own bedrooms.  Work is by no means finished, but so far everyone seems pleased with their own little domains. And maybe, just maybe, there might be less squabbling in future???!!???

After two very harsh, snowy winters, this one has been rather mild at times and far more windy than usual, but we hardly had any snow.  And now, when the sun is out and the skies are blue, there's a definite hint of spring in the air - I cannot wait!!!

Oh well, after this rather random last paragraph, I'm going to sign off - thanks for stopping by and taking a look :)

Christmas cards

Here's a small selection of my Christmas cards this year - there are more, I've just been really bad at taking pictures of them...  Loving my little fishing penguin stamp and my new Stampin' Up! penant punch, which I've only used to make Christmas trees so far ;-)

And now I'd better get to my bed, in case I have sicky children again over night - there seems to be a stomach bug going round which made me feel a little out of sorts yesterday and had two of my girls staying off school today.  Hopefully everybody will be back to normal again tomorrow, don't they know I've still got some Christmas shopping to do, lol!!!

Take care of yourselves, whereever you are, wrap up warm and enjoy the festive season!

Bracelets!

Hello, I'm back for a couple of quick posts!  It's been busy busy round here, I had signed up for a number of craft fairs, and that, in addition to the usual Christmas preparations, left little time for anything else.  I also spent an impromptu weekend in Germany with my parents - my dad had had an unexpected hospital stay in October and I just wanted to make sure that everybody and everything was going alright (which it was!).

So, above are some pictures of bracelets I made with my pretty new beads (click on the mosaic to see a bigger image).  The friendship bracelets have been quite popular with my girls and their friends, while the wrap ones are really only popular with me... Unfortunately, none of them sold at the craft fairs.  Not entirely sure why, can only assume that they weren't right for the current party season, and people were looking for something more sparkly.  However, not to worry, I have now got a selection of ready-made Christmas gifts ;-)  And I had fun making them.

Right, post with a small selection of Christmas cards to follow, thanks for stopping by!

A tentative promise...

... that I will have some projects to show you very soon.  Shortly after my last post, I succumbed to the dreaded lurgy, had to spend a whole day in bed (which happens very very rarely) and took the best part of two weeks to recover properly.  I had no energy and no motivation, which was no good, seeing I had to start preparing for a number of craft fairs I signed up to do.  And then I got sidetracked by beads and bracelets...  Oh my, the world of beads is very seductive, a lot of prettyness to be had ;-)  Long story short, I ordered a ton of beads and accessories and got stuck in :)  Hey, wider product range to offer at the craft fairs ;-)  So hopefully the weather will be kind enough to allow me to take some photos of my stuff in the next couple of days, and then I'll start sharing.  And hopefully you've not all abandoned me and will come back for a wee look - thank you :)

Excuse me for bragging a little...

... but I've got a wee achievement to share :) Nothing craft-related - I ran the half marathon in Glasgow yesterday!!!  And I did it in 2:19.49 - absolutely delighted!!! :)

Now, I may look reasonably fresh, but that is very deceiving ;-)  By the time we got back to the car, I was ready to fall asleep, and my legs were killing me.  Still sore and tired today, but feeling a bit better, so that from tomorrow, I will be able to attack the housework that has been sadly neglected over the last week!!  Thanks for bearing with me, hopefully will have a crafty creation to share again soon.





Bright and Cheery

Not really my mood at the moment, nor can the weather here be described as such, but the card below certainly qualifies :)

Made this for my MIL's birthday a couple of weeks ago and practiced my Copic-colouring on it.  For the first time, I'm actually really quite pleased with the way it turned out :)

Well, this is the last of my current creations - better get back to my craft table soon ;-) Thanks for looking!

Grungy!

Have got another card to share - this is one for the guys!  I think it's safe to say I'm not the only one who struggles with cards for men, so I'm trying to build up a little stash of stamps that might make that task a little easier :)

This card uses PTI's Boy Basics: Rock On and Grunge Me, along with a bit of rockin' and rollin' (stamp technique, how apt!).  The colours are Stampin' Up! Taken with Teal, Tempting Turquoise and Always Artichoke, along with some Basic Black for the inked edges and the sentiment.  Now I just need to find a recipient for this card, not sure if it's suitable for my FIL who's turning 81 on Sunday ;-)

And speaking of Sunday, if you could spare a thought for me: I will be running my first half marathon in Glasgow, and I'm getting rather nervous!  I'm pretty confident I'll manage to get round, and it will feel amazing to have accomplished it, but it's still rather daunting.  Thanks for stopping by!

"Dreamy" Cards

Right, another day, another post :) I managed a play with some of my newer PTI sets a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I'd share a couple of cards today which I made with Daydreamer:

The flowers were stamped with SU! Rose Red, Regal Rose and Old Olive, the card base on the first card is Regal Rose and Kraft on the second.  The second card also uses PTI Background Basics: Gingham, stamped in Rose Red, and some Old Olive grosgrain ribbon.  I really like this set, it has a lot of pretty floral images and lots of possibilities.  Thanks for stopping by!

Back to Blogging

Once again, it's been some time since I last posted. For some reason, I found it pretty impossible to get any crafting done over the summer holidays, let alone blogging.  But, the girls have been back at school now for a couple of weeks, and I'm slowly getting back into a routine of sorts (not helped by sick children, sick dog and training for a half marathon - yikes!).  I've made a few cards, I'm working on some layouts, and I've also just finished a crochet scarf, and will share all these over the next wee while :)

First off, a card!

I've been following the Make-It-Monday Challenges over on Nichole Heady's blog for some time, but never got round to joining in.  This week, the challenge was to use colouring pencils!  Now, I don't have any Prismacolor pencils or odourless mineral spirits, but I do have watercolour pencils!!  And I love using them!  So I had a look through my PTI sets and picked out Up, Up & Away and some pencils in rainbow colours.  Enjoyed some pleasant colouring and a wee while later, had assembled my card.  Hope you enjoy, thanks for stopping by!

Checking in...

...to say "hi" :)  Boy, it's been a long time since I last posted!  And I haven't really got much to show either, my crafting has very much taken a back seat to life over the last couple of month.  At the end of May, my grandmother passed away (she was 98!!) and I took a quick trip to Germany for the funeral.  June was busy with end of school year activities for the girls and getting ready for our summer holidays.  And now we're back from hols, I'm catching up on all the washing and housework, the girls are home, in and out of the house constantly with their friends, we've had two sleepovers in the past week, and all I've managed is a tiny little bit of crochet.  My craft table is a disaster area which I'm just passing at the moment, trying not to look, there is a whole pile of new stamp sets on it and I have no idea when I'm going to have a spare half hour or so to try and play with them.  Yes, I've got withdrawal symptoms!!! ;-)

Anyhoo, I went through my camera card today and organised my photos a little, and I came across a card and a layout that I haven't shared yet.

The card was made for eldest daughter's friends birthday and coordinated very nicely with a couple of the little gifts we chose.  I love how the colours pop against the black background, nice and bright and summery :)

And this layout is of middle daughter, photo taken by my mum when we were visiting in February.  Doesn't she look sweet?  Oh, how looks can be deceiving! ;-)  Not sure this is my "normal" layout style, but I like it.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from our summer hols:

 The Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye

 Elgol, Isle of Skye

 Fairy Glen, Isle of Skye

 Schiehallion, Perthshire - that mountain caused us a lot of pain!  Hard work climbing up, just as hard going back down, legs sore for days!!!

My favourite view from the holiday cottage in Glen Quaich

Thanks for stopping by, hope to be back soon, hope you're enjoying your summer!