Me on Monday

It was a quite weekend, with a broken computer and very early Christmas present of a new motherboard and processor, a nasty cold, lovely weather, a flat car battery and lots of Rugby watching.

 

Thank you all for your kind wishes and support last week and you'll be pleased to know that the situation is resolved to everyone's satisfaction, so one crisis solved.

This weekend the younger-by-one-minute son managed to 'kill' his motherboard whilst installing a new hard drive (he blamed next doors constantly barking dog - it does grate on your nerves after half an hour of listening to it).  He had a motherboard and processor upgrade on his Christmas wish list - for those of you that understand computers this is because he wanted to swap from AMD to Intel.  So rather than buy a replacement that itself would be replaced in a few months we got the new ones.  It does mean he will only have a pair of socks and box of chocolates for Christmas day.

You can tell it is a teenagers bedroom by the dirty crockery

I had intended to blog the last few Scavenger Hunt photos but have spent the weekend with a dreadful cold - the upside is that I sat and did very little for the whole weekend.  I did watch lots of Rugby, and even as much as I wanted England to win I have to admire Wales for their sheer grit and determination.  It was a game for the history books and well done to all the men involved.

I'm sure Sian (who's meme this is - please pop over and visit) was more than happy with Ireland's performance, and I also sat cheering Scotland on against the USA.  Am I the only one who thought that the US's fly half (look at me picking up the lingo!) looked like Zak Efron? Far too pretty for a rugby pitch :)

My wonderful OH decided to try and fix a minor problem with my car and managed to drain the battery as a result!  We got some jump leads and have managed to start the car but the battery isn't holding the charge so looks like we need to buy a new one.

Well I have an update - car started fine.  Both to take eldest-by-one-minute son to casualty AND to bring him back again with a half-slab on.  School PE lesson - don't go in goal!  Oh and we have OFSTED in tomorrow.

Thanks for popping by

Louise x

Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops ... How do i love thee? Let me count the ways..

 I have admired the work of this very talented lady (who goes by the cyber-name of Coventry Ann) for many a year.  On this post here she had used the afore mentioned Nuvo Crystal Drops in lieu of the much loved but hideously expensive enamel dots.

Now I had just purchased some Hama beads to melt in the oven in an attempt to make faux enamel drops.  (If anyone needs some donut like embellishments for a page I have plenty!) And, after trying the iron and heat gun too on the beads too, knew that I had just wasted the price of 1/3 of a packet of enamel dots.

So I went back to admire the layout and scrutinise the dots.  Could I get them so round and smooth?  So I popped on ebay and amazon to price up a bottle - crikey they are expensive on there!  But a bit more web surfing brought me to Crafty Devils Papercraft where they were a fab price (and have a further discount if you buy more than 5).  I will add that I am not being paid to promote the drops and paid for them out of my own hard-earned cash.

I avoided buying any of the colours that looked a 'pearl' finish and stuck with the bolder gloss colours.  As p&p is free over £20 it seemed silly not to get up to this amount. (How often have I just spent a small fortune on post, buying just one or two of something at a time!) So I bought nine ... and then panicked that I wouldn't be able to get the lovely enamel dot type effect that Ann had!

Oh what foolish worries - the stuff is so easy to use.  And just a gentle tap from underneath will settle it into a perfect dome.

The slightly funny looking blueish blob is where I tried to mix two colours - I need to work on that technique! 

So if you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE enamel dots I would definitely recommend these as a cheaper alternative,

Louise x

A challenge layout

I took part in quite a few sketch challenges over the summer - since the start of term I have been less prolific.  But I have done a couple of layouts for two challenges.

The first one is a double layout (haven't done one in ages) from StickItDown.  This is the sketch



I am also linking with Lasting Memories and their challenge to use mixed media with a bold title.  So this is my take on combining the two challenges.

We were adopted by Kato when he was 7 or 8 years old.  He had been living wild for a while but he was the softest, most gentle natured cat.  He never bit, or scratched and even if you accidently stepped on his paw or tail would only give you a slightly hurt look!  We lost him far too early to bone cancer and, despite having a new pet, we miss him still.

This is a close up of the right hand page - I made my own modelling paste with glue, talc and yellow acrylic paint. 
Papers are American Crafts.

 I took the yellow paste too far so covered it with a journaling card.

And it may not be long but it is my BOLD title.








I finished the page a week ago but have been struggling for enough light to get a halfway decent photo.

Thanks for popping by

Louise x

Yippee it's Friday

Whilst those of us with the old fashioned Monday-Friday jobs look forward to Fridays, it shouldn't be with a feeling of clinging on to your sanity and hoping you don't nod off during the last lesson of the day because you are so ridiculously tired.  My apologies to those people that work mega-long shifts and unsociable hours but being tired makes me grumpy.  And with our new working patterns at school I am grumpy from Wednesday morning onwards. 



This morning caught me wondering whether I ought to try caffeine tablets, in an attempt to feel just a little alert and with it.  And also because I felt I might just nod off driving TO work.  This was before I managed to trip over the wire of my straighteners (which I was actually trying to unplug and put away), landing heavily on my knees and causing them to ache for most of the morning!

You'll be pleased to know that the day DID get better.  Namely by the way of 3 biscuits at break time and some divine gooey chocolate cake for my lunch.  I don't have a photo of this as my fellow indulgers aren't bloggers or scrap bookers so they would have considered me slightly bonkers (or perhaps even more so than they do now) for whipping out a phone to capture it.




It looked a lot like this and was just the pick-me-up needed at the end of a long week.

I need to blog a layout I have done for a challenge and the last few Summer (I know, I know) Scavenger Hunt photos that have been waiting on the SD card. 
I won't include the Hama bead enamel *donut* dot fiasco but may admit to having splurged out on several (ok 9) Nuvo crystal drops instead.



So a mixed-fortunes day, but a weekend of playing with new stash to look forward to.

Louise x

Me on Monday

Hello fellow Me on Mondayers and blog hoppers.  It's been a good weekend of shopping, haircuts, more shopping, dozing on the settee, walking around Mill Lakes, and getting planning done a bit faster than usual.  Catch up with what we have all been doing over here with Sian.

We had a rough Friday which I may share at a later date. Emotions seemed calmer on Saturday and the teenagers seemed 'back to normal'.  I just hope they are ok back at school today *sigh*. 

I, on the other hand, struggled to sleep and managed about 5 hours all told on Friday.  I spent Saturday in a headachy fog as a result.  After stocking our cupboards from Aldi I took the girl child for a haircut.

We also swapped an already swapped once pair of jeans for the younger-by-one-minute son.  He hadn't liked the colour of the first pair and didn't care for the button fly on the replacement pair.  KIDS!

Of course the girl had to buy some clothes, even though we had collected some new bras from M&S for her. 

I dozed on the settee for a while (during the rugby - sorry!) but of course couldn't miss Episode 1 of Dr Who :) 

Sunday I  a challenge LO, joined the ranks of failed Hama bead to enamel dotters (so I ordered Tonic Nuvo crystal drops instead) and sat enjoying the warm sun.

We went for a lunchtime stroll around a local lake/river.  It was pleasant but not remote enough for us.

 

These are shots DD took on her iPhone during the walk.

In the afternoon I used a colleagues idea for independent work to 'avoid too much teacher talk'. It helped me plan some lessons super quickly.  Although working out the answers took a little longer!  Whilst I was working DH had to drive to fetch our sons back from a day airsofting.

So that was my weekend - how was yours?  I hope it was good

Louise x

September photo challenge

I may have mentioned before that I am a teacher, so I always find it strange that just as others are expecting to have MORE time to scrap, I am wondering if I will get any done for a few weeks!  

What I can do is join in with a fun photography challenge over on UKScrappers.

This months challenge has been set by a fellow maths teacher.  I need to take at least one photo each to fit the categories of HOME, NEW and SOMETHING MATHEMATICAL eg reflection, triangle etc.

New was supposed to be easy - I was planning on a photo of my new (to me) classroom.  I say planning because after two whole weeks I haven't remembered to take it!  I suppose since it is a maths room I could have killed two birds with one stone and use it for that too - but perhaps not in the spirit of the challenge!

Instead I am going to use a photo of some NEW stash that will also help me use NEW techniques on my layouts - so that is two for the price of one!

My Home shot is this one, looking out the kitchen window into the garden.  Photos from the outside don't 'feel' home to me, they have to be inside.



And my SOMETHING MATHEMATICAL is actually two shots - both taken at the same point on a recent walk.  The hay bales are such beautiful CYLINDERS

(and that is a word the students need to know for their GCSE exam) and they seemed to be arranged like points on a GRAPH.

 

So there they are, my September Challenge photos.

Louise x

That was the week that was.

Goodness me, it has been a whirlwind first few days back.  We have had our school day changed to 8.30am - 4pm, which is fine and dandy.  We have
had our break shortened to 15 min and lunch to 35 min (bit short to tidy a classroom, set up for next set of lessons, go to loo/get a cuppa/eat something, but do-able).  The cherry on the cake is the change from 5 x 1 hour lessons to 9 x 45 min lessons :)


Well there are many positives to this - we have independent study time for students to do what would have traditionally been homework tasks.  In an area where education is not widely valued this seems to be working really well.  Lessons are not long enough for students to get really bored (although with a lack of doubles in some practical subject perhaps not long enough either). 



But boy does it leave your head spinning. We have now done a full run through of all the days (the first Wednesday was run a little differently).  I am sure I will get used to it at some point (please!).  Today a student said to me "It's Friday tomorrow, isn't it miss?" - it took me over a minute to work out that she was correct!



Have a fabulous Friday where ever you are and what ever you are doing,


Louise x

PS to give you an idea I started writing this post last Friday!

Me on Monday

I am a little late but joining in with Sian over here for Me on Monday (be kind I've been out in the rain). 

It was a fairly relaxed weekend, which was needed as this will be my first full week on our new school day of nine 45 min lessons a day.

Saturday never starts with a lie-in as I tend to wake up at "work get up time".  But I did do some blog reading and remembered to order a pack of Hama beads. I keep reading that you can make your own enamel dots with them - I will let you know how I get on! I also made a mental note to take some photos for this post.

The weather was miserable, the sort that makes you want to hibernate.  So we did the usual food shop (during which I bought a steam cleaner, as you do), collected a parcel from the Post Office (not stash) and then we had a quick lunch.  Thankfully it had stopped raining by the time I got to the PO, but there was a HUGE puddle/mini flood just outside, which spread into the road and made it a game of Russian Roulette with traffic and a huge spray of filthy water. 

After lunch I tried out the cleaner - I didn't realise it would leave the floor quite as wet as it did.  Perhaps that is because it is an Aldi special rather than a big brand name *I do love Aldi though*. :)

 

 It was then picking-up-daughter-from-her-dance-class time and we nipped into Home Bargains to buy the toilet roll I had forgotten earlier.  There are some things you can leave until the next shop but this couldn't wait.  They were very expensive loo rolls 'cos I ended up spending £20. I had a similar experience on Thursday with a pair of school joggers and £35!

I completed a LO for StickItDown, where I will be the guest designer for October and discovered I was in the top 3 over at Lasting Memories. Since I have been back at work I have only managed to finish the above LO so I don't think I'll be entering many challenges this month!

After tea a took a turn around the garden.  We have a long and slightly-in-need-of-work garden that I can NOT go into (other than for 'pegging out') for days or weeks on end. *turns pink*. So my mission is to get out into it at least once a week.  We then watched some proms and went to bed.

Number of Me on Monday photos so far = 0!

  

Sunday morning started later and was much nicer weather wise.  So nice that my OH and I went for a very relaxing walk in the local countryside. 

  

 
 

We stopped part way round for a picnic of tea, crisps and a biscuit.  

We saw buzzards (one of which was being mobbed by crows), pheasants, swifts and surprisingly some white doves, which we suspect are 'pets'. 

We also came home with more litter than we took - why do people just dump stuff?  It looked like this had been carelessly thrown from a car (it is a load of McDonalds boxes/cartons/wrappers - the nearest McD's is in the neighbouring town).

Most of the afternoon (and evening!) was spent planning lessons and sorting out seating plans and there is still plenty left to do :(  It also involved picking up the not-so-littlest one after she fell out with her friend :( :(

Anyway, a 'mahoosive' thank you if you popped by and bothered to read all this blather.  See you soon

Louise x
 

Sort of a meme but not quite there yet...'Two Old Layouts'

A little while ago I blogged about my first scrapbook pages.  And the other day I was organising/looking back through my older scrapbooks when I realised that (a) I had forgotten many of the pages and (b) how many I liked and how many I didn't.

So I have decided to do an occasional post on 'Two old layouts' - one that I am happy with and one that I would love to re-do.  A sort of meme, which I may do regularly or might never do again!

I will start with the yak page first (I like to get the bad stuff out of the way).

 

 

Photos cut around, stickers plonked anywhere and that awful, awful paper (bought because there wasn't much available and I didn't have a lot of money to spend).  The journaling around the photos is about the only saving grace of this page!

I am much happier with this page.

It is on paper rather than cardstock as this was all that was available to me - but at least there aren't awful stickers and shaped photos! (Although there is a distinct lack of embellishment).
I loved this paper at the time - it was from a 'paper pizazz' pack and it felt like I had spent a fortune, as we only had one fairly low wage supporting a family of 5 back then.  I think I used some birthday money to buy it and hoarded it, using it sparingly. 

I remember buying a Kelly Panacci scrapbook kit from QVC - it cost a fortune at the time but it was sooooo beautiful and there was nothing else like that in any of the local(ish) craft shops.  I begrudged using any of it - and certainly would only use one thing at a time.  The very idea of using two embellishment stickers on the same layout seemed to be the height of frivolity and spendthrift.

 




Can you remember when your choice was bazzill cardstock or single sided, very thin paper? And usually I matted the photo ON the card THEN stuck it on the paper!

These were the matching stickers that only went on EXTREMELY special and precious layouts.   Do you want to know the *funniest* (doesn't actually make me laugh though)/daftest part about it?  I hoarded them for so long they ended up in my DD's stash because they went out of style and I had moved on in my tastes! So I only have a couple of layouts using it!!!

*Note to self - will you learn to USE stash before it is out of date/style/favour!*

Anyway they are my shares from yesteryear - feel free to join in and do your own post, or just leave  comments about my bad taste in paper and stickers. (If you do 'join in' let me know so I can visit you.)

As always thank you very much for popping by

Louise x

Me on Monday

Goodness does anyone know where I lost at least 3 days from that last week? Derbyshire schools are back today - at least they are for staff! We also have a second training day tomorrow and then hit the ground running (or with my achy joints a slight hobble) from Wednesday..

I am waving to Sian and joining in her with her fabulous 'Me on Monday' meme.

So I had a 'new hair-do AND colour followed by a bit of shopping' Saturday morning,

 then a fairly lazy afternoon.  I edited a few pictures (ready for a guest scrapbook challenge spot)

and made a work 'to do' list. 
 

Lots of TV was watched and then I did a bit of ironing ...

...well I can't go to work creased and crumpled.  Although truth be told it is only in terms of my clothes, personally, with crows feet and poor posture, I am more often than not very crumpled!
 

              

The shopping included new jeans for the younger-by-one-minute son (he didn't like one pair so I need to swap them). The older-by-one-minute son likes a very different style of jean so his were also bought yesterday, but online.

Sunday saw me drafting intervention groups as part of my new role as Progress Leader for Y11.  This took ages and I don't feel like I have done it properly or finished the task. :(



But since the weather was glorious at least I was sat in the sunshine doing this work :) I also nipped in and out of the garden to weed and dead head - more lovely warm sun! 




After lunch my DH and I decided to have a stroll around the local area.  It was very relaxing and even though it was around the streets of a small town it was still enjoyable and we saw some lovely and some interesting things - including a buzzard circling overhead. 

I did irritate my OH by becoming a little wistful over our children no longer being really children, and half wishing they were all back at primary school - or younger - when Thomas the Tank Engine ruled and they still held my hand to cross the road.  He told me to take the rose tinted glasses off and that it wasn't all sweetness and light! 

 

I then spent the afternoon in that fidgety waiting state that always precedes the end of the summer holiday - the slight niggle about having new groups, learning new names and being prepared for the first few lessons.  I did a soupcon of scrapping (more of the guest DT layout) and a lot of faffing with spreadsheets and medium term plans. 

The girl child did some baking with a friend so I got to eat a very delicious 'Magic Muffin' (does that mean it has no calories?)

and then I just relaxed (or couch-potatoed to be accurate) surfing the net, blog hopping and watching a little Antiques Road Show.

I hope your weekend has been a good one,

Louise x