Week 5, photo 375+1

Well hello there, hope your not all snowed in:) A late start here and ofsted postponed. Here's this weeks photos:
Only two to be explained this week,
2. Collection....I don't really collect things but this is our collection of children's cups from our childhood. Can you guess which is whose?
6. Interaction....Finally Rob has found something to be enthusiastic about on his artwork....collage/paint gorilla skulls. He actually wanted to show me and talk about it:)

That's it for today, stay warm now:)

Winter equations

Summer + hedgerow + dead end lane = blackberries + abundance = frozen bounty = delicious winter breakfast.

Enjoy today wherever you are.  Here we have a layer of snow.  Ofsted tomorrow....I hope they arrive.

For Sian's Storytelling Sunday.



My Month in Numbers...January

Hello, bet you didn't expect to hear from me so soon....that will be because i am joining in with Julie Kirks, My month in Numbers this year.

Don't know what I'm blithering about check it out here.  I am going to show my month as a layout on the last day of each month but as I hadn't started it yesterday, it had to wait until today.  I haven't been very organised about it even though I read Julies tips, so next month i must try harder to be more organised and write things down.



So my first month in numbers is:

• 31 Days of taking photos for photo 365+1
• 70 Was the age of my mum on her birthday which we celebrated with Champagne and Iced Lemon Cake.
• 3 Lbs in weight lost...slow but steady.
• 7 crafty projects completed....mostly presents for my mum.
• 4 Different types of soup made....Tuscan Bean, Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper, Carrot and Coriander, Moroccan Chickpea and Spinach.
• 11 Blog posts this month...which surprises me as when I stared the blog it was only one a week, if that.

I cut those circles on my Bigshot out of all my scraps over the Christmas holidays, I knew they would come in handy at some point:)



Ruffles and frills

As promised I'm back to share my amazing knitting.  No, I am not a very good knitter, slow and awkward would describe my style.  But before Christmas I discovered a wonderful yarn called Can Can Glitz.  When it's wound in the wool it just looks like normal chunky yarn but when pulled out it is actually a meshed tape.  You cast on by pushing your needles through the holes in the mesh then knit in the usual way except your stitches are actually the holes in the tape.  I may not be describing this too well but I'm sure there must be a You Tube video somewhere.

Doesn't it look great.  I have made three scarves now, two in the lilac as shown above and one in hot pink.  Unfortunately they have all been presents but I am pleased to say that all the recipients were delighted to receive them.

I did cause a bit of a stir in the staff room when I took it in to do at lunchtime (I had a deadline of two days before my mums birthday).  Everyone thought I was dead clever....little did they know that it was just my poor knitting skills that made it look difficult.  In fact a scarf only took two evenings to make and one ball of yarn.

  Here in my little part of Hertfordshire we seem to have a distinct lack of haberdashery and crafty shops so the only stockist I know for sure that has it is Hobbycraft.  I really must make one for myself sometime....  

Week 4, photo 365+1

A few tricky prompts this week:

1. Glowing... Late afternoon sun amongst stormy clouds.
2. Hot....Cleaned the kettle especially for this shot.
3. Motion...My garden in a glance.
4. Motionless...Tulips (secretly growing) shh!
5. Free prompt, Clearing leaves...a job always nicer in bright wellies.
6. Amazing...Amazing nature, frost on the car.
7. Fluffy...Totoro, my favourite anime character.

All photos taken using my itouch, edited using Instagram and Be Funky photo apps.

Things haven't been going too good down here of late, 'It never rains but it pours' the saying goes.  Even my eternal optimism has had a dent or two recently.  But today I am going to be positive.  I'm thinking....

• One more day until the weekend
• No news is good news
• 2 weeks until the half term
• Bargain tulips @ 95p
• The leak will be fixed on Tuesday
• I have lost 2.8 lbs



Wowsers! My pick me up bargain:)

I have been practising my crochet this week.  Lets just say it will be a while until I have something decent to show you.  But I do have this:

This is the card I made for my mums 70th birthday last week.  Both stamps are from Lilli of the Valley.



Sanded and glittered numerals as I didn't have any to match.

I will be back very soon with my latest knitting handiwork...or as I like to call it, fooling people to believe you are good at it.  So until then, stay positive:)





Hearts and Flowers

Anyone a member of the Instagram site?  I have become quite addicted to it and regularly drop in daily to view wonderful photos from photographers from around the world.

I prefer to follow the iphone user photographers as this is the camera I am using to take photographs for the Scrap 365+1 photo challenge.  It makes for quick and easy uploading to blogs, flicker, facebook and of course the Instagram site itself.

I use my UKS name Gingerscraps if you fancy having a browse sometime.

I'm really enjoying the challenge of the daily prompts, I think it releases the frustrated photographer in me.  The iphone camera and various apps to help edit them really help to make the mundane look spectacular.  Not for me f stops and instruction manual reading....I like to just pick up my camera and snap.

So apart from taking photos, last week I was furiously making birthday gifts.  It was my Mum's 70th birthday and one of my presents to her was a scrapbooking canvas.

Doilies, paper roses and Kasercraft Bonjour range.

Blank canvases can be found fairly cheaply now and I find make a layout extra special.



The title of this old sheet music found in a charity shop seemed apt.





I used a photo of my Mum as a young girl.

I chose a photo of my Mum as a young girl as she doesn't like her photo taken and so I thought she would appreciate a photo that didn't remind her of her age.  I borrowed it last year amongst a pile of other family photos so it was a complete surprise to her that I had copied it. 

I had better go and check on my Carrot and Coriander soup as the diet starts in earnest this week....I have an app for that too:)