SNOW!
Ireland is having some weird weather this week - snow in November! It's practically unheard of at this time of year. We've also had thunder and lightning which makes it all the more freaky! I put this slideshow together of some photo I took this week...




Finally got a chance last weekend to catch up on some scrapbooking and I got some layouts finished. The first is called 'Photoshoot' and describes the good and bad points of being a photographer's daughter ;-)

 The next one was a kit I got from Annamarie of  The Scrapbookstore.ie and it has been lying around my craftroom for ages. I used a really lovely poem which sits on my fridge door daily about 'If I had my child to raise all over again' by Diane Loomans. I thought it was appropriate for the photos but also for the fact that my baby is now ten years old and I can hardly believe how fast that time has gone.

TFL

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The Great Big Craft Extravaganza




This weekend I'm looking forward to teaching a class at the The Great Big Craft Extravaganza (GBCE) in Athlone. Entry is free to the event and there will be plenty of fabulous workshops and of course there's the shopping ;-) so come along and meet up with other crafty people. Details of workshop times and availability are on the link above.

I will be using a lovely kit from Jennie Bowlin and we will be completing a double layout. You will need 1-3 photos and the theme is fairly open. My photos are 5''x7'' with a white border but 4x6 photos  in colour or B&W will also suit the layout. If you cannot attend my workshop I will have a limited number of spare full instruction kits available for sale for this class and other workshops I have run in the past  and these will be available after the class. Hope to see you there ;-)

Details of Kit and photos required for my class this weekend

Sneaky peak of my class.

On a roll...so I am...;-)

After a rather dry spell of scrapbooking over the Summer holidays...I am back on the wagon and enjoying putting my layouts together...here's a few of the newer ones I made in the past week..

I took both of these photos of my girls in  a little town called Sirmione in Italy this Summer and in fact the wall they are standing against is the previous home of Maria Callas...it's actually on the market if anyone is interested! ;-)

And this is how they look side by side in my album...

The next layout is entitle 'Ipod Chicks' and it describes how my two magpies hijack my Iphone/Ipod at every opportunity. They can't wait to grow up so they can have their own!

The next one is called 'Thank Heavens for little girls' and it shows my eldest in Glendalough which is a beautiful and well known 12th Century monastic site just a few weeks ago...

Finally the last one is the same photo in the previous posting but just scrapped in a different way...I figure I have two girls who may one day want to have these albums of mine for themselves. This way they have one each!

TFL
xx

Bubbles...


It never fails to amaze me how a small tub of soapy water can gives hours of entertainment to my girlies....This photo was taken on holidays in Italy this year. They must have spent an hour trying to create the perfect bubble...;-)

Some new layouts from me...it's been a while ;-)

Lucy's 7th Birthday

Norah

A few years ago my mum and dad went on one of those 'See 3 European cities in 7 days on a bus with complete strangers'. They had a ball visiting Prague, Budapest and Vienna. On this trip they met a lovely woman and her daughter. Norah is a woman in her 80's and quite a character. They have formed a close friendship even though she lives in Cork and since that trip my mum speaks to her on the phone most weeks - she's like her second mother. As it was my mum's birthday last week I was making her a birthday card when these photos of Norah fell out into my lap. I considered it a sign so I quickly made up these 2 layouts to add to her album.

The quote is lovely and so true... 'where ever you are, it is your own friends who make your world'...

'Rules for a Perfect Life'...

Just had a lovely visit from my good pal Niamh Greene who I haven't seen in ages, as she is busy writing her funny books about 30-40 somethings who get themselves into pickles. Niamh was up in Dublin this morning to appear on Ireland AM to discuss her newest book 'Rules for a perfect life' - perfect for the Summer holidays. You can catch the link here;

Niamh's book is out now in all good bookshops and is currently 'Book of the Month' in Easons bookstore. You can also buy it online here. Great read for the Summer hols!

'Brothers amd Sisters' Scrapbooking Class



Another fun day out at Le Cheile today. I designed this colourful layout using My Mind's Eye 'So Sophie' papers. I used a great quote from Marcelene Cox;
'Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet;
there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires...'

Don't we all have one of those in our family??? Maybe we are the one?? hehe!



If you like the kit which includes a number of double sided sheets, cardstock, journal tag, title tag, blossoms brads and vintage lace, you can order it here ;-)

Sneaky Peaks..May class 'Brothers and Sisters'

I'm looking forward to our last class in Le Cheile for the Summer months which is happening next Saturday 2-5pm. This weekend we will be using the lovely new papers 'So Sophie' from My Minds Eye. Here's just a couple of sneak peaks of what we will be making....some spaces available if you'd like to join in...

I Won!!

Just found out tonight that I won a Fiskaratte's sketch competition which ran over the past few weeks. I'm really happy as there were lots of great entries.My prize is a year's subscription to a craft magazine of my choice - brilliant!! Here's my layout of Lucy last year in Venice - love those venetian mask shops as every mask looks so different;





Check out http://www.fiskarettes.co.uk for some generous competitions and some great inspiration!
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Belfast Marathon


Just home from Belfast where himself did us proud yesterday when he ran his second marathon in 3 hrs and 25 mins. He took ten minutes off his time last Oct at the Dublin marathon. This is him at 21 miles and he was basically smiling as he ran by us ;-)

After the marathon we went back to the hotel for lunch and met these two fantastic women. Catherine (Kay) O'Regan is the lady to the left - she's 75 years of age and just ran her 97th marathon yesterday. What's amazing about her is that she took up marathon running at 49 and had a personal best time at 3hrs 15mins when she was 58. She has a busy marathon schedule this year and hopes to clock up marathon no 100 by October. I am flabbergasted by this woman's achievements. You can read all about her here. The other lady Mary Chapman is also a fantastic athlete as she ran the marathon yesterday in Belfast but also ran the ULTRA marathon in Connemara 3 weeks ago which is 39 miles!!! I feel like donning my trainers now to get out there and run...What a privilege to meet these ladies ;-)

Fiskarettes Sketch Challenge


This is the latest Fiskarettes challenge so I used this sketch to create a layout about our trip to Venice last year. I love Venetian masks - especially how you will rarely find two decorataed the same. The shop windows are amazing and I spent ages browsing them...



I loved using these vintage papers and lace to give an 'olde worlde' feel to the layout. I painted some grunge board lettering with gold acrylic paint and decorated them with stickles in a Venetian harlequin pattern...





Here are all the entries and you can vote now ;-)

TFL
xx

Canvas Class

We had a great day last Saturday in Le Cheile, Donnycarney. Using the lovely new 'paperdolls' papers from Crate, we altered a canvas and created an additional 12x12 LO. Lots of pink girlie girl photos floating about!!



Thanks to everyone who came along last Saturday and we look forward to seeing you again on Sat 29th May 2-5pm in Le Cheile, Donnycarney.

xx

Altered Canvas Class - Le Cheile Donnycarney Sat 10th April



Really looking forward to getting back to teaching a class next weekend in Le Cheile. We will be altering a canvas of your choice to create a fab gift using these gorgeous Crate papers.






You can find all the details about the class and booking over on www.scrapbooking.ie. Some places still available so drop a line if you would like to join us. Beginners welcome ;-)