I will be missing for a while

We are moving next week and I am going to struggle to post anything let alone create any layouts...I need to start packing my supply. The packers are coming on Tuesday next week to pack but I am hoping to sort my stash so it will be easy to find at the other end. Packers usually just throw everything in a box which might mix stuff up but boy, they are quick.

In the mean time, I have a couple of travel layouts to share.

This layout features photos from the city tour of Prague. We were driven up to Prague castle where we had a walking tour, then back on the mini bus to visit that church with the doll, followed by a walk across the river on Charles Bridge to the big square for the clock tower.

This layout is about a stop we made at a curio shop in Kenya. We were on a road that runs parallel to the equator and all the shops have this sign up. If you stop, the shopkeeper will show you how the water swirls in different directions depending on whether you are in the southern hemisphere or northern. Apparently this behaviour was documented and named after a western scientist but the Masais have always used this behaviour to navigate the vast Mara for centuries. What was even more curious for me was to see that the water stops swirling when you are dead on the equator, under that vast yellow sign.

class #8

This is my last layout for Doris Sander's Product Pizzazz 102. I have enjoyed doing her classes, always taking a slightly different view of those embellishments! For this class, she challenged us to make a frame for the photo. Mine is made from an assortment of tat that I seemed to have accumulated. The photo is of my boys and the welcoming party at a Samburu village in Kenya.

I am doing a piano grade exam

EEEK! I wasn't going to do the grade exams when I first started playing the piano but after talking with another adult learner, I decided to go for it. All this happened just a couple of days before the deadline for application for this term's exam so I didn't have time to dwell and change my mind and all that... I think it is probably for the best, now H won't tell me what I can or can't play because "you are not even grade 1".

I have 3 pieces to play. The A piece is Gavot which I find the most difficult because of the change in tempo, especially those triplets! H also played this in his piano exam when he got a merit but I think he is a bit worried about the competition. Last night he said, "you'd probably do better than me as you've had more time". The B piece is Kummer ( meaning Grief ) which is a natural for me as it is slow and haunting. The C piece was going to be difficult to choose as this is what my boys call the "fun" piece, mainly aimed at kids. I picked African Dance because I wanted to conquer my fear of chords! Here's Gavot for now. I am struggling to upload more. They were 'taped' with the webcam but the camera is nowhere near the piano so, sorry, no visual, just sound.

I am doing great with scales...scales are wonderful because they are even, no mixture of crochet and minim and quavers and whatever. The sight reading is going to be so, so, but the aural could be a nightmare especially if I have to say whether the examiner is playing is 2 or 3 times. And I can't sing, big sigh.

Class #7

Photo of my boys enjoying a splashing time at Centre Parc...they even obligingly went up and down this slide posing, smiling for me until I got a good photo.

In this class, Doris challenged us to use pink for boys. I have used Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday so can't be more pink than that, can I ? She also wanted us to think of an icon to fit the theme of the page. I have used my reversed scallop ( I think that is what it is called ) Nestabilities to make some masks that I sprayed with Maya Road Mist. Following on from my feeble attempt in class #5 at spray inking....I have been brave, haven't I ? I thought those reverse scallops look like water droplet + splash of paint = my icon. Next was 5 or more flowers...I don't use many of these so that was hard. Lastly, she said to copy an idea of layered embellishment. In one of the sample layout, she had chipboard swirls layered over each other...slightly jostling for space so I copied that idea. Normally my swirls would have sit neatly next to each other rather than over LOL.

Class #6

I didn't get the chance to upload this last week...had to dash out to get the boys!

For this class, Doris challenged us to use some acrylic which I have here in the form of those little stars from Heidi Swapp...you might not see it though as it is not very visible. I altered them by punching holes to turn them into buttons and threading a couple of beads. Doris also urged us to tear, punch, crinkle, distress patterned paper which I did very, very lightly as I don't like to get too distressed. Finally repetition I covered by putting the four similar photos side by side to look like a family portrait.

I had loads of those cute edging from Sassafrass scattered on my desk, unused, almost unloved, so I decided to splash out and use a few on this layout.

Class #5

I have been playing catch up with Doris' classes. Today, I managed to do 5, 6 and 7. YAY! For class 5, Doris talked about font choice, spray inking, stickers. Fourth point was taking a simple shape and layering on it...I think I might have missed this point, eek.

The photos are from our trip to Keukenhof in the spring. We were too early for most tulips (except the earliest varieties ) but fortunately there were plenty growing under the glass house. There was even a wedding taking place and we saw the bride having photos taken amongst the rows and rows of tulip.

I've never been confident splitting up a long word over multiple lines but this time it helped that I think of Keukenhof as Keu - ken - hof when pronouncing it. I was not very brave with the spray paint the first time I tried it so it was merely a little squirt, no mask or stencil, simple.

Have you seen ?

my boys in SBM ? My issue arrived this morning and this is one of the layouts from that issue. I was asked to incorporate recycled stuff on my layouts. That was no hardship as I tend to use all sorts of tat on my layouts.

For this, my 2 Jokers, I have cut up fabric panels from A's shirts...no, not his current ones but his old ones that were really tatty at the collar and cuffs. I have been saving them for many years to make a quilt ( they are nice and soft egyptian cotton mostly ) but I never did make a start. I finally cut up some of them up, saved the buttons and discarded the rest.

I love this photo of my boys. J is always holding H a little to tightly and I suspect, in this one, J was also tickling H and trying to look cool at the same time.