Central Park Pages

We fell in love with Central Park. An amazing place right in the city with so many different areas. Ponds and lakes, wonderful secluded areas, football and baseball pitches, running tracks, playgrounds and a zoo............it just goes on and on.
Strawberry fields was not what we expected, I think the plants in the surrounding gardens are probably in bloom spring and early summer but there was nothing very special to see other than the mosaic and not a lot of 'peace' as there was a constant stream of people of all nationalities taking pictures.
I think I got a bit more creative with these pages and hope they give you a flavour of the park.

New York Scrapbook

After our holiday my daughter asked me to make her a scrapbook. Taking quite a time but here are the first few pages.









All my spare time has been used on sorting and editing photos and getting the layouts ready. As we had nearly 200 photos choosing just a few for each of the memory pages has been really difficult.

How safe can it be????

When we were going on holiday I put my credit/bank cards, cheque book and store cards - like Boots and Tesco point savers, in a safe place. Well, several really. When we returned I knew where my credit and bank cards were, got my priorities right, but could not for the life of me remember where I had put my cheque book or my other cards.

Last week after rooting round the house on a more or less daily basis with no result I had to ring the bank and order a new cheque book. No problem......... well, only that the person dealing with me must have decided that I couldn't get into my online banking and changed all my details. Eventually received new details in the post - but get this - the letter had my new customer number, my pin number, my bank sort number and my account number in the same letter - everything anyone needed to access my online account!! What is even more stunning, when I contacted the bank and pointed this out - they didn't think it was a problem!?!?!

Well, hurrah - this morning I found my cheque book, in the front of my ribbon drawer in the art room. Pretty obvious really.

I have £30+ on my Boots card and two receipts that have to be put on in the next week or two. Anyone got any idea where my point saver cards might be?

Well....that was a long coffee break.

So much has happened in the last few months - I've retired - great but the run up was very hard work and tiring. I had to not only get all my work up to date, some of it a year ahead as exam work had to be prepared ready to go to the examiners next May/June, but I also had to train my replacement. Not easy as both he and I still had our teaching timetables so eventually had to spend a lot of time leaving copious notes and instructions on the computer.
Had a wonderful retirement party, lots of gifts and some lovely things said. Followed this by taking my teaching assistants out for a meal which was a nice finish to the term.
So forty years after I first stepped into a classroom as a teacher I said goodbye to my pupils and school. Quite emotional as you might imagine.

Next thing of note - had a brilliant week in New York with my daughter - my big retirement treat. Flew business class - what a treat- and stayed at The London NYC, very swish, had a suite and on our last night had a meal in Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant which is in the hotel. Excellent dining experience, staff were wonderful and I could spend the next three pages describing the food - enough to say that I could happily return as often as possible- but only if I wasn't picking up the bill. Did all the tourist things including a dinner cruise up and down the Hudson river which was great as we had wonderful night-time views of the city.

Finally - today was my induction day at Teesside University. I am starting an Honours degree in History next week, part-time, so that I still have time for me and hopefully my mojo will return. Have loads of crafty goodies I have gathered in the last few months which haven't seen light of day - including stamps and Copic Sketch markers which I bought while in New York.

So I hope I now manage to call in and add to my blog on a regular basis, preferably with some cards and scrapbook pages to show you and have time to call in on the forum and on member's blogs.

Hard Work Raising the Kids

This afternoon I was doing some blog hopping when I became aware of a constant little visitor to my bird table - a little blue tit. Watched it picking up seed and flying off for a while and then found myself hooked. I tried to follow it's flight as I thought it might be nesting in my neighbour's garden, he has had them in a clematis at times but it seemed to be going further afield than that. Then I realised that there were two of them obviously taking turns at gathering food for their babies. One alternated between the bird table and a peanut feeder- safe because the mesh is small and they can't get a whole peanut out.
In ten minutes I counted fifteen flights.......... and this went on for the best part of two hours.
Now I always thought that raising the kids was hard work but given the size of these tiny things and the number of forays they must make in a day, I think I got off fairly lightly.
They do have one advantage though, their offspring don't hang around for years, nor do they keep coming back for Sunday lunch.

Sympathy Card

My neighbour's Dad died yesterday so I needed to make a card for her. Rather busy day so had about half an hour to put this together. I matched the colours to the flowers I bought her. Never quite sure about what to put outside and in so kept the words simple - inside read ' With Our Sympathy at this Sad Time'. Would be interested to know what other people put, I'm not really into verses and I feel that I can only put something with a religious leaning if I know that the recipient will appreciate that.

Son's Birthday Coming Up.

I seem to be basing my cards on papers and colours at the moment and love chocolate and tuquoise. The sentiment if from another Papertrey set.



This is for Louise to give to her brother - keep telling her she should be making her own. Another where the paper led me into the design.

Back in Business

Made my first cards in several weeks today intended making a birthday card and made these three.

This one is for a friend of my daughter's. Used images from Papertrey's Green Thumb - and as she likes glitz I used a glue pad and glitter for the dandelion seed head flowers.



The following two were inspired by the papers. The black and white is a Papertrey pack and I love the long Happy Birthday stamp which is from their Round and About Sentiments set.



and the last one is just using papers from K & Co Maya Road. Gorgeous set, ready glittered, gilded or with a velvet texture - you know, the ones you just keep stroking. Well today was the day. This sheet is one of glittered ones and I cut and pieced it - was going to add a sentiment but decided that it would spoil it, so the sentiment will go inside. Really easy once I made up my mind to leave well alone.

Act of Faith

I am taking a break from card making at the moment as I have started what I can only call an 'Act of Faith'. Not that I am religious but this is based on an incident that involved my mother and older sister many years ago. When I have a conclusion I will explain but I'm keeping it to myself until then. Please keep your fingers crossed, wish it well, say a little prayer - all will be very welcome.

My grandsons.

The two younger boys in this picture are my grandsons, Rob,14, (second left) who plays the drums and Ed,16, (far right) keyboard and bass guitar. The story says all the rest except that I am one Very Proud Grandma.


Teesside rockers Electric Nightmares progress in band contest
Mar 17 2009 by Mike Blackburn, Evening Gazette

TEENAGE rockers Electric Nightmares triumphed at the North-east Finals of Live and Unsigned, the UK’s largest talent search for live original acts.
The Middlesbrough quartet, whose average age is just 15, will now go on to compete against bands from Scotland for a place in the national final.
The youngsters have made it this far against 10,000 applicants plus live auditions, to the North-east finals which took place at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle on Sunday.
They played two songs in front of hundreds of fans and a professional panel of judges. The first was one of their own compositions, Leave in Pieces, which they followed up, appropriately, with a cover of Teenage Kicks.
Of the acts making it through to the northern final, Electric Nightmares are the only youngsters.
But the day was not without drama.
Drummer Robb Maynard, the youngest in the band at 14, sprained his wrist just hours before the performance. But he strapped it up and played through the pain.
Robb said: “Waiting in the dressing room and then backstage before we went on was torture. But once we were on stage it was brilliant. We just played our hearts out.”
Jessi Stephenson, bass player, Rob's cousin and fellow 14-year-old said of the results: “We were all lined up backstage together waiting while they read out the judges’ decision.
“It was like something of the X Factor.
“They really dragged it out. When they called out our name first, we just couldn’t believe it. We just looked at each other before running on stage.”
The band are now preparing for the Northern Final on May 2 at the Tyne Theatre. They will go up against the other finalists from the North and Scotland for a place in the national final at Portsmouth Guildhall on June 27. That 2,000-capacity venue will include guests from recording agencies and the music business, including major record labels.

Such a long time.........

It is such a long time since I used my brayer but have this new Stampin up set and braying came to mind.




The brayed background is in shades of yellow and blue, hasn't quite photographed as well as it might. Still I think it gives a seaside feel to the stamps.

My Dear Sister's Birthday.

My dear, and only, sister is 83 years young on Tuesday - and I do mean young. She is a retired Methodist minister - but forget the retired bit. I think she does as much now as she did when she was officially 'working'. Still takes services at least once every Sunday, sometimes three times. Does funerals, runs house groups and visits her 'old people' in nursing homes and hospitals but I wouldn't mind betting that she is older than most of them.

Difficult to buy for so have made her a writing set as she still writes to her grand-daughters who don't live near, and to many of her friends - they are all over the country from the time that she was stationed in various places by the church. Did think I would do something modern and bright but she is a very elegant lady, wears suits and shoes with heels- only about 2inch ones now but still... So this is what I decided on in the end.




The stamping is done using Papertrey 'Simply Stationery' with their Spring Rain inkpad. The image on the envelope is a larger version of the parts of the circular stamp. The cardstock is the same inside and out but has photographed darker in the 'open' picture.

A bit more delicate

Thought I'd try a couple of more delicate cards. This first one uses a Papertrey stamp from the With Sympathy set and I embossed the side with a Cuttlebug folder. Quite simple but I like it!!



This one was on my desk for days. I stamped the centre, another stamp from the same set, then couldn't get anywhere with it. Finally decided that the white base card wasn't doing it any favours so sponge inked it randomly with a matching blue and added the ribbon and sentiment. Think it works.

Black and Bling

I love black and white and so black and bling sounded even better. Problem was that I got carried away with the Stickles and put it on all the stamped images. Only when I put the ribbon on did I realise that I had put it under the ribbon too so it's a bit bobbly. The option was to take it all to bits and start again ........so I've settled for the bobbly one. Still the rhinestones aren't spoiling anything.



Stamps: Papertrey
Ink: Papertrey

Engagement card...but a little different.

One of my team has become engaged and we wanted to give her a card and a gift - and, as usual, I was making the card. My difficulty was that she is in a same sex relationship and we had never heard of such an engagement so this was my first attempt to make something suitable to celebrate the occasion. The words inside just say 'Congratulations on Your Engagement' then each of the team has written their own sentiment. I just wanted to keep it as simple as possible....... but had to add a bit of bling.



One of the team just had to ask "Who got the ring?" The answer was an eminently sensible "We both did".
After all diamonds are a girl's best friend.



Cardstock: PTI Vintage Cream and Aqua
Stamps: PTI

This is a pretty one

Thought I'd better show you a girlie card after all my male ones. This is using the Shattered Glass that Jak introduced me to on Papertrey Ink Flower Frenzy stamp.



Sentiment, ink and ribbon are also PTI.

Seem to be hooked on Men's card this week

This one is another card using a Grungeboard letter. Inked, embossed more than once, glittered just a little. Used PTI sentiment and ribbon and some Memories brads.



The other two are patterned paper with machine stitching, buttons or bling. Again the sentiments are PTI.






Louise tells me the second one can't be for a man because it has a flower in the middle of the sentiment. Guess I'll go for unisex then.

Lighthouse Card

A friend asked me to make a card for her brother who has retired (early) to Cyprus, loves sailing and lighthouses in particular. Loved this stamp and she was really pleased with the card as she says - he is really living his dream.

Another Birthday, Another Card

This is the card for my daughter to give to her sister- in law Angela, hence the A.

First time I've used Tim Holtz Grungeboard. The A is inked, embossed and glittered (in pink and green though the green hasn't photographed well)  but think I could have been a bit more adventurous with it and given it a bit more 'welly'. 

Back on track.....I think!

Haven't had time or inspiration for far too long but have started making again and quite pleased with the results.
This first card is for my DiL's birthday. She used to have a phobia about butterflies but has worked hard at losing it and I thought that these were so pretty that she couldn't really freak at them. Inspired by Jak's shattered glass glitter but I put far too much glue on - therefore loads of glitter and the butterfly weighed a ton when it was wet - luckily it dried much lighter. Then went a little overboard with the rhinestones. Very girlie.

The other two are really male cards. Like most other people I find these more difficult but rather like these.

Love using the sewing machine on cards, think this might be a trend for me.

Stamps. PTI