Smashing update

The other evening I was putting a few more bits into my smash book, and realised I hadn't shared any of the more recent pages with you. Now I'm not saying these pages are complete ... its very much like an old fashioned scrapbook for me. And by that I mean not a whole lot of embellishment or design, just a place to keep my ideas fresh in my mind. So here are how a few of the pages are looking at the moment.

I cut apart this wallpaper that is going in our downstairs toilet; it just reminds me of project life cards 

I've been including fabric swatches and wallpaper samples too and cut up brochures ... all in all, I'm having fun with it.  It is still a work in progress, but I thought I'd share how its looking so far.

Kitchen Smashing

Not literally! ... well, I'm not, the builders are instead. No, this is just smashing our kitchen plans from the store.

My big smash book comes with lots of envelopes, which I just love. But I know me, I'd tuck something into one of them, and then forget what I'd put where. So I smashed the front of the envelope.

 

I did cut up a few of the extra plans they gave us. To be fair, the company were amazing as I knew what I wanted and they really listened and took note. You can just see behind I've started smashing a page for the bathroom. Need to finish it off before I can share.

 

There will be more kitchen smash pages to share with you, but I thought I'd get the ball rolling for now.

 

I also thought I'd share a few photos with you on how the building works are progressing ... the builders are really going full steam ahead and send me photos regularly. So here you are;

 

  

Foundations being poured

 

This is our kitchen and that wall will come down (its to the old bathroom)

 

I'm photographing Simon from what will be our new bathroom (brings a new meaning to open plan living)

 

An opening is being made bigger between two rooms

Under the stairs is being opened up too.  



Old Bathroom

What a great find

 

 Its all so exciting, and I can't wait each week to see what's been changed.  I know things will slow down as to big visual differences, but that's when things like electrics and plumbing take over.  I look forward to sharing more with you soon.

ok ... I'm sorry

I've been a dreadful blogger and I'm sorry for that, and I feel bad too that I haven't been doing my rounds of catching up with reading and commenting on blogs. I've missed so much of what's been happening in your lives.

Now, about that, I'd be interested to know how you all manage to comment and read blogs, I worry about falling behind and not being a good blogger friend to you all. So any advice you could give me would be so welcome right now.

So what's been happening with me? Quite a lot actually, and shock horror, I've been crafting, and rather a lot too.  I've been scrapping, working on my Project Life album (bit behind on that), sewing my hexis and of course cleaning up my craft room.

Anyway, I'd like to share some good news with you; we have finally found a builder for the little house. Yes, its been nearly a year since we got planning (still a few niggles to iron out, but nothing dreadful), but its been finding a builder has been so difficult. Still, we've found a gem of one and I'm over the moon. 

For those that don't know; our little house, is our weekend retreat (or will be). It used to be Simon's Nans home and we bought it a few years ago. It literally has the sea at the end of our garden, and we love sitting watching the tide come in and the fishing boats go out. The house has been in the family since the early 1920's and has always had happy memories for all the everyone. Nan, had the most amazing way of making everyone feel at home there, so I'm hoping that continues.

Sadly though, the house has fallen into neglect and although was liveable and we did try to make it our home, it does need a lot of work. So it's going to be pretty much knocked about and bought into the 21st century. The kitchen has been ordered (oh I loved picking the kitchen, soooo much fun), as has the bathroom, and all the furniture as been put into storage, and the builders have already knocked out walls.

So with all this, I'm working on a smash book for all my ideas. The poor builder is always being handed bits of paper with things I've seen on Pinterest, that I'd like, so you can just imagine how he'll feel, when he see's me wandering in with my smash book in hand lol. (and I've gone for a great big A4 size one lol)

So enough of all this waffling, here is the first page of my smash book; I've gone with ideas for our colour scheme, and I'm really enjoying the non structured flow of a smash book ... more to follow.

I promise this blog won't be all about the little house, as I'm going to do its own little blog. I remember reading a blog not so long ago where the blogger had made her blog into a coffee table book. I think something like that would be so much fun at the end of the build. Now just need to find the blog again.

Again thanks for sticking with me, and I'm sorry that I've been a bit flighty with my blog reading and blogging these days.

Smashing Sunday

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far, sadly our weather certainly hasn't been playing nicely.  Goodness, I'm freezing, I can't believe that we had the wood burner alight yesterday evening, and I think its heading the same way tonight.

Anyhow enough moaning, instead I'd like to share with your a couple of lovely things that I've won over on blogs recently.  Honestly, when I've seen my name come up, I've been so excited you may well have heard me :)

Firstly, just look at this amazing book I that I received from Jo from Curly Scrapbooker

 

I can't wait to have a good read of it, I think it's just what I need.

Then just the other day, these lovely goodies came from Becky, over at Becky's Scrapbook Burblings, for me. 

Thank you guys so much xxx

Ok, I did say that I'd share with you, my smash book playing.  I recently bought a Prima mixed media doll stamp, and together with some Promarkers, this is the outcome.  I've been busy checking out Pinterest for inspiration with tags etc., so hopefully more to follow.

And lastly .... on this rather chilly Sunday, here's to the weather improving next week.  Not just for the start of Wimbledon, but also because we have new garden furniture being delivered tomorrow - as due to the high winds of recent days, it bought down our garden parasol smashing our glass table and breaking part of our decking.

So enough is enough ... are you listening weather! ... Summer needs to start tomorrow! .. There, I'm putting my foot down.

Album Update

Firstly I’d like to say sorry if you haven’t seen me commenting on your blog posts for the past few days, I’m having a nightmare with commenting on my iPad.  For some reason it keeps telling me, that I've been blocked from commenting because of a firewall, or that the blog has blocked me .... Please don’t shut me out LOL. 

I’m hoping to get this sorted out soon, but I have been stopping by, and on several blogs, have tried to comment up to 4 times, and then given up.  But trust me … I’ll get there in the end.

Ok, here are a couple of projects I’d like to share with you.

First is the wedding album for my cousin. I handed it over to her today, and was so touched by her sheer pleasure of it – I can’t tell you how much it means to me. Even her husband shocked me, he had tears in his eyes. The reason I say all this, is they’re not really crafty people.  So sometimes, I worry when making something for someone, they’ll just look and say … uumm very nice and put it to one side. But they didn’t at all and for that reason, I’m walking around with a huge smile on my face right now.

So … here are a few of the pages. I kept the album pretty simple, and most of the pages were the same – papers and a border punch. Then ever so often I added some blossoms and bling. Well, with 50 photos, I really did find this was the only way to get it done.

 

Next up, is the cover of my Smash book …. I’m loving playing with smash books at the moment. This one is just for sheer fun. Sometimes, I want to make something, but not for anything in particular … say, I’ll stamp an image and play around with that, but it’s not for a card really; or I’ll think of an idea for something to go on this blog or pull an idea from a magazine … well, all those sort of things will go in this smash book.  And I do have a page already I’ll share with you at a later date, but for now here is the cover. 

 

Right, that’s it from me for now … I’m hoping to sort out my iPad this evening, I’ve done the usual, switch it off, switch it on again; checked my software is up to date; I’ve shaken it; told it off, and even screamed at it.  None of this has worked, so now I’ll hand it over to Simon this evening and he’ll do something really quick and obvious and it will work! … you just know that’s the case, don’t you.  So I apologise now if I don’t comment over something since Monday, but fingers crossed it will all work out.