Forgotten treasures...

As it seemed from your comments many of you liked the idea of adding postage stamps to my scrap booking layout.  So I set about making another holiday page with postage stamps on but was lacking in 'nice stamps'.  I recently remembered adding an Italian stamp to our 'charity stamp collection' and so asked Nigel if he knew where the collection was.....and he produced this.....

His old stamp collection from when he was a child.......I gasped in excitement and then opened the box...

Inside was this Ladybird book....good old ladybird...

Lots of little envelopes full of stamps, all sorted into categories....

He said I can use them however I want.  But what to do with them all?.....I couldn't bare to give them to charity....any thoughts?



Lost for words...

Well almost.  When I first stepped up to this small, rocky plateau, 'awesome' was the word I first thought.  Just because there wasn't a word to explain the sheer beauty of the view.  Awesome, is not a word I would normally use, it's a bit Americanised for my taste.  Wow, stunning....you decide.  But really you can't appreciate the beauty from the photo, you have to be there. 

It was the first walk of the holiday and included two chairlift rides and a very steep climb.  But more about those experiences another day.

The red and blue lined pattern on the card stock reminded me of air mail envelopes which gave me the idea of adding used postage stamps as embellishments.  Unfortunately I did not have any Slovenian stamps (the postcards home have only just arrived), the nearest was Austria but in the end chose the stamps that most matched the colours in the photo and paper.  The little card on the left is one of the chairlift/summer toboggan passes.  

It feels like the summer is well and truly over now doesn't it? I have already packed my summer clothes away and now the wardrobe is full of plumbs, browns, navy and greens.....hmmm, love the autumn colours.  I must be one of a few that actually look forward to wearing opaque tights and getting out the woolly knits.....but then I don't have a tan to cover, factor 50 put paid to that:) 

The change in weather reminds us that the new term is fast approaching and unfortunately I will be back at school soon.  Not sure what the teen will be doing yet, plan B is still being sorted but a plan C is available in case of emergency.....

All about the boy....

It's been all about the boy this week, yes GCSE results day descended on us and we have been trying to swim against the tide ever since.  Unfortunately the teen although did very well was pipped at the post and his plans have been changed.  Except he didn't really have a plan B until yesterday.  Hopefully things will be sorted out over the next week. 

With all the new arrangements being made I managed only a little scrapping.  Of course it has to be holiday photos and as we are talking about the teen, here he is....

Digging into the delicious Slovenian ice-cream (well it may be Italian because we are literally within walking distance of the border).  That boy has a good head of hair on him, takes after me in that respect.  But boy is it a mop at the moment, he definitely has a habit of hiding underneath it

I used a Shimelle sketch to kick start the mojo with mustard yellow and blue gesso splattered papers and a die-cut flower.



Hi Honey.....

........I'm home.

Well hello there, we are back in dear old blighty and the washing machine is spinning away.  We are still putting things away (I hate that part of the holiday) so I haven't had chance to scrap any holiday photos yet so I am going to bore you with a couple of photos's of our holiday instead.

Firstly, the awesomeness of this view from Slovenia across to Italy and Austria is definatly one of my favourites.  Please click onto it as it is so much better in a larger photo.

Pretty moth/butterfly with a rapidly flowing river behind.

Buckwheat pancakes with mixed berry sauce....these where simply delicious.

The only wet day, but the scenery is still pretty with the cloud decending over the mountains.

Pretty windows...



Well, that's all I am going to share for now.  The rest need to be scrapped and many a story told.....and the washing machine has stopped which only means one thing, another load to be put in....sigh!

Oh yes!!! I have seen that the video I posted is on here.  I didn't think it had been successfull.  maybe someone could tell me when it was available to see.  Sorry about the poor quality and any spelling mistakes I posted while I was away but the i-touch has very small keys.

I will be back soon to tell you more and maybe a layout ot two...ta ra for now.

A funny old day....

The marked footpaths around here are not quite like the public footpaths at home. For a start in the UK we have a tendency to signpost them. Also we don't have many landslides which means our paths are not littered with fallen trees, boulders and scree. You are never likely going to come across a missing path....that's been washed away by heavy rain (so heavy they slip into a ravine or river) . I have never been chased by a goat (with very large horns...is that a ram?) because he wanted my lunch and I never have to take off my boots and socks to wade across a river...so I can continue the route home. Yes, it's quite different walking in Slovenia....

A watery end...

In the mountains you never know when it will rain....luckily it was hot and sunny today. Unluckily for Rob he tried to jump a stream as the path had been washed away and he misjudged it. So it just goes to show that you can still get wet even on a sunny day:) Nigel and I? We stayed dry as we turned back at this point...

Today....

....we mostly looked like this.

See!

Told you I was a techo phobe. Oh well here's a photo of the chairlift instead. I may try again to upload the video but right now we are going to jump into the jacuzzi to pummel my aching limbs (and it's chucking it down outside:)

Techno....

I'm a techno phobe....there I said it! But since I tried mobile blogging with my touch it's so easy to blog on the move. So easy that I am going to try posting a short video of one of our chai oft rides. It shows us on the lower chairlift....the higher one was seriously scary and I was scared of dropping my camera down a ravine I was trying not to look at. You can hear screaming from the children on the summer toboggan. It's really fun. We came down that way too but we didn't scream. Going to have another go soon. Hope you enjoy it.

Wow!

Two chairlifts (one of which was a single seated and very high up) and a hot, steep walk was worth it to be rewarded by these views. From this viewpoint you can see the Austrian and Italian mountains....stunning!

Arrived...

Quickly unpacked and ambled straight down to our favourite cake shop. Cake, beer and complementary honey shnapps. Our holiday starts here.

All packed....

All packed, walking map studied, dreaming of beautiful views, cold beer and scrummy cakes.

Comic Con

As I mentioned the other week, the three of us recently had a day out down to Earls Court to visit The Film and Comic Con.

For those uninitiated among you, it's where you will find fans, merchandise and the odd film star of classic films, comic books and all things geek!



POW...Nearly managed a monotone layout....but a few sneaky colours found their way in.  KA-BOOM....Hand drew and coloured the captions.  BAM....A little inky distressing always covers any mistakes:)

Now, although most visitors are a pretty normal bunch, there is a tendency for some fans to 'dress up' as their favourite superhero or character (known as Cosplay.....costume + play = Cosplay).  So waiting in the queue to get in can be quite entertaining.  Apart from spotting the 'have you looked in the mirror' outfits (one Bat girl really should of cut down on the pies before wearing that particular outfit), some are obviously frustrated actors.  Enter Darth Vader, A Storm trooper, Dr Who and a Ghost buster who took it upon themselves to act as security for the day.  Accosting Robert, checking out the contents of his bag for any alien lifeforms, Dr Who analysed his water bottle while Darth Vader breathed menacingly.



Strips of Comic Book pages added interest.

I managed to get a few photo's of the 'security check' and the back of Rob's head before they lost interest and found a new 'victim'.

Oneday...

This layout started with a Facebook conversation with some work colleges. I had let on that one of my little daydreams (ones that make me giggle to myself) was to hide inside a large box at school (or the recycling wheelie bin or the Christmas postbox.......imagine taking the Christmas cards from a poor unsuspecting child's hand) and jump out at a random child walking past. Seriously, I would laugh so hard........I know, I know, I have worked with children for far too long. This led onto another confession, of wanting to ride on the handlebars (because being a cycle trainer I obviously have to be seen to be doing everything correct...no I never ride with a carrier bag on the handlebars...honestly) while Jackie rode the bike on the path shouting 'out of our way' while scattering children like skittles. And this led onto the layout with other things I hope to do one day. Some serious, some not.

You never know, on my last day before I leave (aged 90 because by then there will be no retirement age) I may just do some of these day dreams. Until then they still make me giggle when I see a discarded empty box....