Leeds Paper Dolls Summer Retreat

My Birthday was doubly special this year, as not only did I have a lovely pre-birthday meal with John, and a pre-pre birthday meal with my sister Dawn and her husband, I also got to go away for a weekend at the seaside with my scrapbooking pals! Unbeknown to me, the lovely Kirsty had baked me a gorgeous cake and everyone sang to me...maybe it's not so bad being 51, after all!
Knowing my love of dressing up, Janet and Lesley were kind (mad!) enough to join me on Saturday as we all dressed up in 1950's frocks and headed for Whitby, where we paddled in style (until the waves got us!) and then had a wonderful fish and chip supper before heading back to the cottage for wine and chatting, and scrapbooking too.
I made my own "Smash!" book, and the other girls all followed suit, maybe we will become known as the Leeds Smashers! Anyway, I've loved writing and painting in my book, sort of a mixture of a scrapbook, art journal and diary.
Yesterday, I decorated the inside front cover with a collage figure, inspired by a fabulous book called "Collage Couture" by Julie Nutting; I can highly recommend it if you want to have a go; easier than it looks and the results look really good, even if I do say so myself!! Here is my finished page, hope you like it...

RAF blues

sorry been AWOL for a while, and haven't done any crafting either. I've spent the last few weeks worrying about, and praying for, Nick, as he waited to see if he would be one of the pilots that the RAF decided to get rid of. In their wisdom, they have sacked a third of all the trainee pilots, and we found out on Monday that our wonderful son is one of them. Despite being head of the RAF cadet section at school, receiving a sixth form scholarship from the RAF, gaining his private pilots license through another scholarship, and being awarded a scholarship for the most promising cadet in the country even BEFORE going into the RAF, it seems this wasn't enough. So what is? Who knows. We are devastated for him, as it is all he has dreamed of since he was a young boy in primary school. No idea what comes next, but I will keep you posted. If I did any art journalling at the moment, I think I'd need a LOT of black paint!

Tim Holtz Day at Art From The Heart

Well, the long-awaited day arrived, and I could hardly contain myself waiting for the school bell to ring at quarter to one yesterday, which meant I could finally set off to Harrogate for an afternoon with Tim Holtz. Dyan had persuaded him to come to England, and I am so thankful that she did! We learnt so much, my head was spinning and I didn't know which new product to try first! 4 hours of staining, spritzing, stamping, sanding (why do all crafty skills begin with 'S'?!) flew by, and we all went home with our own Artful Journals...and a whole heap of goodies, too!
Here are some of the afternoon's highlights...

Even the ticket for the class was special....Dyan had made them in her own unique style, and then proceeded to make each one individual by doing a different doodle on Tim's face for each persons ticket, while we were busy making our journals! Mine has Tim wearing a pirate eye-patch, and a few missing teeth!
I'm so glad I was able to go, and I'll treasure my journal....especially as I got Tim to sign it for me!

Project 12

Just finished putting together my first LO for Project 12. It was trickier than I expected, mainly because my camera went AWOL for most of January...finally found it in the boot of my car just in time (which John found hilarious, given that my boot is about 2' wide!) It was lurking in my recycled carrier bags...
The LO was fun to do, it's the first time I've worked from a sketch and I really enjoyed it. I think because I am currently so stressed about poor Nick that the sketch enabled me to do a LO without thinking too much...good job, as my brain is currently having a meltdown!
If you fancy joining in, the details can be found by clicking the link opposite.
Here are my finished pages...

Art Journalling

Well, I've made numerous attempts at art journalling, since I attended a weekend course with the lovely Dyan at Art from the Heart last spring. However, none of my pages seemed to look right, and I keep giving up then having another go! Yesterday, I finally made a page I'm happy to share.....prompted I think by the sheer rage, anger and frustration I feel at the moment, after being told by our lovely son Nick that he will learn next week if he is going to be made redundant....this, after 60 weeks gruelling training with the RAF, and passing out as a Pilot Officer just before Christmas. How can the RAF justify doing this to such fine young men, just to save money? Why spend all that on their training, indeed continue to recruit, and yet still make such a short sighted, devastating decision that will wreck so many young lives?
Anyway, I will get off my soapbox for a moment and show you the page.
It started life a few months ago like this...

It was done with very sloppy watercolours and a bit of twinkle H2O's, which I let drip down the page. It didn't turn out like I wanted, so I just left it.
Yesterday, I took it with me to Leeds Paper Dolls and was thumbing through the Times Educational Supplement colour magazine (no, I'm not a reader, but the magazine delivered to school has some great images in!), when I came across this article, which summed up how I felt perfectly...

It looked a bit lost on the page, so I drew round the image and caption with a water soluble oil pastel crayon that Gill had told me she loved using...except I didn't know how to use them! It looked a bit grainy and insipid, and I'd forgotten to bring my paintbrush, so tried using a wet wipe...wow! I love how the oil just darkened and merged into a solid colour, I'll definitely be using them more often now, in fact I think they're my new favourite thing!
Finally, I wrote down all my anger, and this is how it ended up. Hope you like it x

Scrapbook 2010 finished at last!

Well, my December pages for 2010 are finally finished, I hope you like them!

I've also been busy this weekend making a book of my home, I spent a great day at Dyan's Art from the Heart craft emporium (! Heaven for me, Hell for the bank balance!). Dyan taught us how to put the book together, then I spent most of yesterday adding all the tags, pictures and other bits and bobs. It's my new favourite book now!

Finally, I just found out that one of my December pages in the collage above, has been published on a blog I follow about the adventures of Monkey. Wow, I feel famous! Here is the link...
http://mumsmonkey.blogspot.com/2011/01/were-calendar-boys.html
Thank you Monkey, for letting me use your photo AND blogging about it, too. I am honoured!

Project 12

Well, having almost completed "Document 2010", I have been looking for a new challenge. I really enjoyed watching my 2010 album take shape, and it's great to look back now and see a permanent record of our year. For 2011 though, I wanted something a bit different, and a bit less than 4 pages every month! I've now found the perfect challenge, called "Project 12" (see the link on the right if you'd like to have a go). It's a great idea, with 1 sketch of a double layout provided for you each month, so all you have to do is add your photo's and choose which yummy papers you want to use. I'm really looking forward to it, and hope to add more journalling too, as I think that's what helps to bring the photos to life.
Alongside that, I'm hoping to progress more with my art journal, as I haven't had the confidence to paint or draw much, and when I do, I always think the results are rubbish. So 2011 will be the year I have a bit more confidence to have a go, and hopefully learn some new skills on the way.
So keep watching!!

November 2010

Well, here I am on the last day of 2010, spending it doing what I love best...scrapbooking! I've had a lovely chilled-out day upstairs in my craft room, getting covered in glue and glitter (note to self - DO NOT wear black next time you get the glitter out!!) Just need to do the December layouts now, but need to think about it carefully, as the main focus will be Nick's graduation. That was such a proud day, and I want to do Nick justice. No ideas at the moment, so hopefully 2011 will bring some inspiration!

Our hero

Just had to blog again after receiving some fantastic news yesterday.....after joining the RAF as a trainee officer last September, Nick has just been told officially that he will pass out from college as a Pilot Officer next Thursday. We are so so proud of him, it has been a long hard slog but finally he can start to "live the dream."
Well done Nick, you are our hero xxxxx

Nick leaves home

2 blogs in 1 day, whatever next!
Thought this news deserved its own post - although Nick officially left home last year to join the RAF, he has still been coming home on leave. He has spent most of his weekends staying with his girlfriend Jess; as she lives with her parents just across the road from us, this hasn't made too much difference! However, they are madly in love and have decided to rent a little bungalow a few streets away from us. Here it is:

They moved in yesterday, and by the end of the day they even had a beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the lounge! They are so happy together, and make a lovely couple. Jess's little girl, Abbie, was just as excited too, and her bedroom is already a vision in pink!
They live on the top of the hill, which means the views from their lounge window are spectacular....think if I lived there, I'd never get anything done! Here was the view last night -

Lovely, isn't it?
I wish them all love, peace and joy in their new life together xxx

Journal 2010 catch-up

Well, so much for my aim to do a monthly post! Thought I'd share my 2010 pages, I've just completed September now, so not TOO far behind!
Here are the September pages -

Here are the pages I did for August -

Not forgetting my "Big 50" in July -

And lastly, here are my June pages. Gosh, these seem years ago!

Hopefully, the last 2 months will get done asap, before \i forget what happened!

Back to school

Well, after 8 weeks of bliss, life has gone back to normal again. Why?? School!!! No more lazy mornings, drinking coffee and watching Homes Under the Hammer (sorry, but I LOVE that programme!), no more impromptu midweek trips to the caravan, no more wine with Tuesdays tea (if we were at the caravan then, it just FELT like a weekend!), no more scrapbooking in the afternoons or tootling along the country lanes around Alne on my new bike. No! Who needs a life like that when you can get up at 6.30, argue with your daughter because 11.30 is a better time for her (!), spend your day in school and have to eat a school dinner (where I just found out the chicken comes from Taiwan, yeuch!), then come home and race round shopping, cleaning, helping with homework and making tea before collapsing into a heap at 8.30 and wondering how soon you can go to bed?
Oh well, it'll soon be half term...
On a brighter note, while I had a life in summer, I did manage to complete my scrapbook pages for June and July. Here they are..

Scrapbook Catch-Up!

Well, we broke up from school 2 weeks ago and it's been wonderful to be a full-time mum again, finding time to cook meals, clean and catch up on scrapbooking without feeling tired and stressed all the time! This is my layout for May, part of Shimelle's challenge to scrapbook your year. I'm really hoping to get June done before the end of July, and feel truly up to date!
Life in the Dodgson house has been super-busy; I was 50 on July 1st, Polly was 12 on the 19th, and John will be 50 next month. Nick threw a surprise party for us on Sunday, and invited all our family to a Sunday lunch get together at Howley Hall, followed by champagne and cake back at our house. Despite being slightly worse for wear at the end of the day (!), we had a fantastic day which I'll remember with a smile forever. Thanks Nick!

Leeds Midnight Walk 14th May 2010

Last night, over 1,000 women took part in a sponsored walk through the streets of Leeds to raise money for St Gemma's Hospice. We walked 6 miles, and raised a total of over £80,000, which is an awesome amount of money. I am absolutely shattered today, but feel really proud that I was able to help in my own small way. Many thanks to all of you who sponsored me, you are stars, too!

Mum, we got an "ology"!

Just come back from a fabby weekend in Harrogate with Janet and Lesley, where we got messy and learnt loads of cool new stuff from Dyan at Art from the Heart. Despite feeling carp on Friday night, I perked up enormously after a good nights sleep and felt normal (??!!) again on Saturday. We drank red wine out of light-up wine glasses on Saturday night, how cool is that? How much more excitement can we take at our age?! Thanks Janet, I'm off to buy some of my own now!

At the end of the weekend, we all got a certificate in "Prattology", which means we all got an ology...or we're a right load of prats, the choice is yours!!

Scrapbook Frenzy!

This weekend, UKScrappers are hosting a Cyber-Crop based on the game of Monopoly. It basically means you scrapbook constantly from Friday night until Sunday, and having stayed up until midnight last night, I only hope I last the distance!
In preparation for the weekend, I spent last week trying to catch up with the 2010 challenge, and managed to complete my February pages. Just need to do March's now, before April finishes!

Thanks be to God x

Well, at last we have good news about Nick!
After having his case reviewed by a non-RAF Doctor this morning, he was told that his knee had suffered nothing more than badly bruised ligaments, and the main damage he has suffered is due to the fact that the RAF have made him use crutches for the last 2 and a half months, with absolutely no physio. Exactly what we have been saying since Day 1!
The Doctor then gave him 40 minutes of intensive physio, then took his crutches off him and he is now walking again!! Praise God, we have had really good friends praying for him too, and at last they have been answered. I kept telling myself everything happens for a reason, and now I can see that He had everything under control when yesterdays injections were cancelled at the last minute.
I am just SO thankful x

RAF Blues

Sorry everyone but I need to let off steam about the RAF....AAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!
1st of all Nicks transport didn't turn up this morning as the RAF medical centre had forgotten to book it! Tried to rearrange his injections but he'd have to wait 3 weeks!!!! So John then had to drive him to Cranwell to make his 1pm appointment, only to get a phone call from the RAF en-route to say sorry but the doctor's gone home sick and has cancelled his appointment!!!!!!! Can you believe it, I am SO angry. They are now getting a non-RAF GP in to see him tomorrow to see if it would be quicker to operate after all!!!!!
So as I said.....AAARRGH!!!!!!!!!!

Finished at last!

WOW! At long last, our hall is decorated and carpeted, with new curtains and a hall table to finish it off. The spare room is now my craft room, and that is finally finished too. Phew! I'm really pleased with how the rooms have turned out, and now look forward to many hours of peaceful crafting...if only I can evict Polly from my new desk, as she loves it and seems to think it belongs to her!!
I hope you like how the rooms turned out x

All change!

Phew, my feet seem to have hardly touched the ground this month. We have had a leak in the conservatory repaired, and the room repainted. It's strange how tidying a room up makes it suddenly more appealing, and we have found ourselves voluntarily going to sit in there again, after avoiding it like the plague for months, as it gradually became a dumping ground for all sorts of unwanted stuff...now it's all gone to charity, and we can feel virtuous and clutter free!
Being gluttons for punishment, we have also had the hall, stairs and landing re-decorated. It looks lovely, and will be even better on Friday when the new carpet arrives...walking on floorboards is not very kind underfoot, especially when you make contact with a gripper rod, ouch!
Nick is still at home with us, and still on crutches. His MRI scan showed that every part of his knee had been badly damaged, but luckily they don't think it will require surgery. They are going to give him a series of injections on 6th April, which will coat the cartilege's frayed edges and enable them to start physio so he can hopefully get some movement back in his knee. If that fails, then it will mean surgery, so let's hope it works!
Finally, all the staff at school were called to a big meeting last night, and told that our small private school could not survive financially for much longer, and they are applying to the Government for Academy status. It will mean the school will double in size, but our jobs will be secure. We are all a bit shell shocked at the news, and wondering what the long term implications will be for all of us. Early retirement to our beloved North Yorkshire is winning hands down at the moment!