Home from Disney/Donegal!



For the past 2 months himself and myself have been harbouring a secret. We told the girls we were going to take them to Donegal for mid term break (they believed us!). They have been excited about the trip, planning what to do when they go to the beach etc etc. So last Wednesday at 5am we got up to go to 'Donegal'. When we swung into the airport quick park, we told them 'surprise - we're flying to Donegal'. They believed us! So off we flew to Paris and everytime Eva saw Paris CDG we told her CDG mean't Donegal - well it sounds a bit like Charles de Gaulle (tee hee). She believed us!

We arrived in Paris and there was a bit of suspicion about. She told me 'there's something a bit fishy mummy - I heard people speaking French and I think we are in Paris'. I told her they were speaking Irish and we were getting a connecting bus to Donegal. She still believed us. So we get in the que for the Disney bus and they met another little girl who was heading to Disney with her mum and dad. She said to my two girls 'I'm so excited about going to Disney' and Eva looked at me - I told her Disney was the first stop and Donegal was the second. She's still swallowing it hook line and sinker and I can't believe it's gone on this far! So the big red Disney bus picks us up and off we go. When we stopped at our hotel we get out to change for Donegal and finally we told them. Lucy started to pout and said 'but I want to go to Donegal'! Kids eh!!! They weren't long getting over their disappointment as the reality of the surprise set in.

So we checked in to the Sequoia park hotel and brought them to the Princess Castle where surprise no 2 was waiting - their cousins Ali and Peter who they are mad about - suddenly appeared before them. They were all chuffed to bits and they started the adventure by planning what rides to go on first.






Fast forward 5 days and about 100 miles of walking from park to park morning to night and it made for a fabulous holiday. So many highlights...the parades, the crazy rides (which I had no choice to go on this time as my 7 year old kid is braver than me!),the favourite rides (small world, buzz, teacups etc), meeting so many of the characters, the fun we had together. Then on Saturday we had surprise no 3 - we booked a special lunch with the princesses in the castle. I don't know who was more starstruck... me or the girls. We met all of them at our table and they were all so beautiful and graceful. It was just magical.



You can never have enough of the place (apart from the terrible limited diet of fries, hotdogs and Sprite! ;-)...photos to follow - I took over 1000 of them...no kidding!






I don't know if it's just me and my obsession for all things paper- but there's a certain rusty pickle range called the princess and the pirate which would go fabulously with this photo!!!

Isabel's Christening

We had a lovely day yesterday for my niece's Christening. Isabel was a little poppet in her white dress and she was compliant for a few shots as we sat in the basking sunshine...
I made this little canvas for her using a photo I took when she was just 2 weeks old.

Donnycarney May class and crop

It was a full house today and lots of buzz in the hall and mountains of productivity all around. Here are the layouts we made today using Basic Grey's fabulous new Sultry papers. Thanks to everyone who came along especially the newbies who did great for their first class. This class will be repeated on Sat May 24th in Taney parish hall and there are some places available. The next class in Donnycarney will be our big event on June 21st. We are almost sold out so if you are thinking about it don't hang around or you'll miss out ;-)

Sneaky Peaks...


Sneaky Peaks...

Looking forward to our class and crop this weekend in Donnycarney and here's a little sneaky peak to throw some light on what photos to bring along. We will be making a layout with the new Basic Grey Sultry papers and there will be plenty left over for a DLO.

Simple things...


Sometimes we forget to stop and look at the simple things in life which make us happy. I found one today...

Just updating my blog for anyone who was following the sad news of my cousin. I just heard that he passed away an hour ago. They are hoping to donate his organs so hopefully some good can come of such a terrible situation.

Thinking of his family now who have such a hard road ahead of them...

Stephen may you rest in peace...taken too young.

XX

What's in a name?

I found this over on Anna's blog and thought it was fun, what's your name mean?

What Elaine Means

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

We have had a huge response to Lance and Donna's Midsummer Mega Scrap event and lots of our places have been booked already! This is going to be such a great day of teaching. Keep checking our blogs for further details;-)

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!



Just wanted to wish you all a Happy National Scrapbooking Day .......... and ...... we can't think of a better way to celebrate than by sharing some really exciting Irish scrapbooking news!

Lance Anderson and Donna Downey are coming to Ireland for a one day only Midsummer MegaScrap!!!

Yes, myself and Annamarie from The Scrapbook Store are delighted to announce

a Midsummer MegaScrap

on Saturday June 21st, in Le Cheile Community Centre, Donnycarney, Dublin.

Featuring from the U.S.A,

Lance Anderson and Donna Downey.


This is the first time any U.S. celebrity scrapbook tutors have visited this island and we are really lucky to have two of the biggest names in the industry here for just one day to teach two fantastic classes.

Many of you will know Lance Anderson, the owner of Rusty Pickle and an international scrapbook tutor. Lance travels the world teaching and launching the gorgeous Rusty Pickle ranges and his classes are amazing. Lance will be teaching a fantastic Pocket Pop Up MiniBook. Details of Lance's Class can be found on Annamarie's blog here.



Donna Downey is an author, scrapbook tutor and columnist with Simple Scrapbooks magazine and like Lance, travels the world giving workshops and sharing her passion for crafting. Donna's class has been specially designed for her trip to Ireland and you will love it!

The fee for the full day is €120.00 and this includes:

- A three hour Pocket Pop Up MiniBook Class with Lance Anderson from Rusty Pickle.
- A three hour technique packed Class with Donna Downey.
- Kits for both classes packed with a total of over €65.00 worth of products!
- Tea, coffee, snacks and refreshments all day.

Places for this creativity packed day are strictly limited so if you want to reserve your place now just email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie and we will send you full booking details.

Annamarie and Lainey

* Plus, book and pay by May 17th and be in with a chance to win your ticket price back!

Craft news

After all the bad news this week, I just wanted to lighten the blog with some recent crafts. My little ones were on a ballet show a few weeks ago and I made this little mini album for their teacher Mairead, as a momento of their big night...









I've started making jewellery again-it had come to a complete standstill since Christmas - think I made too many and got burnt out LOL! I bought some new findings this week so plan to get cracking on it again. This one was for Annamarie's mam - one of my best customers ;-)


I was delighted to find my layout in Scrapbook Inspirations this week. I always get a kick out of seeing my layouts in print. This was a very simple one - but I liked how it turned out...


Some recent layouts..this was taken last year in Italy on holidays and I am counting the days to go back there as it was the most relaxing time.


I took this series of photos for Cheryl's painting with light course last year which was great fun to do. I loved the change of expression in madam's face and had to do something creative with it...


I've recently started collecting these little people- they appeared in Borders last month so I found myself seduced. Her name is Momijii Giggles and I love the idea of popping a secret message in her for someone to find.


Finally I will leave you with this photo of Lucy's creative style - could be the start of a whole new fashion this year ;-)...


PS Annamarie and I have some major (HUGE!) crafty news to share so check the various sites and blogs this weekend and all will be revealed...Big date for your diaries!

No news..

There is still no further news on my cousin. His family are with him and he is on life support. I just can't imagine what goes through your mind when you watch a child or sibling lying there and there's absolutely nothing you can do for him. His little boy his having his 6th birthday next week. Such a sad sad time for them all.

Not good news..

Unfortunately the news is not good. Stephen had a major bleed on his brain and there is not much hope. The last I heard this afternoon was that it was just a matter of hours God love him. Please say a prayer for his parents, son and family.