Looking Forward

I thought I was going to be a bit short of material this week. Blog fodder. Stories. I'm sure you understand. So I phoned my sister in a panic.

"Quick." I said. "Give me something good."

"Aah." she said.

"You could tell them about the time you made us play Girl Guide Camp in the back garden. Which would have been okay except you ran it to a time table. In real time.

Or the time you fell into the tadpole pond and we had to go home early because you had to borrow a pair of somebody else's big purple pants.

Or the time you were learning to drive and you took the corner so wide all the shopping fell out of the bags and a cabbage started rolling round the inside of the car and you got really mad when we shouted Coleslaw! at you for the rest of the afternoon."

"Oh." I said. "Not out of stories quite yet, then. I'll keep scrapbooking."

And storytelling. Don't forget - Storytelling Sunday this coming weekend. I'll be ready, you can bet on it.

I've been overwhelmed by the number of get well soon messages you have been kind enough to send me since Saturday. Thank you so much. I've been replying to them all as best I can - it's so very good to be able to use the computer again wthout a sore head! I've been catching up on some blog reading and planning some new projects for Scrap365, for Sandra at Gotta Craft and for a Guest DT spot I have coming up at the end of March. Looking forward feels like fun again.

It Went Like This..

Events took an interesting turn this week when the doctor said "Sian, get yourself to Accident and Emergency now, or I'm sending an ambulance for you."

So I went. But I'm home now. In the end I didn't need most of the tests and I'm not going to bore you with the rest of the details. I'm taking it easy for a few days. Though you might see me popping up here and there: I'm sure I won't be able to resist a bit of gentle scrapbooking soon. Tomorrow, maybe...

Photo 365+1

Today is day 52 of Photo 365+1. Already! That means Suzie has faithfully supplied over fifty words and we all have a steadily growing stack of pictures to scrapbook.

Today I have for you:

2nd. Button - on the boot of my car. It was about a year before I realised I could open the boot with this. I had been using my key. Then The (Not So Small) One spotted someone on TV ..she'll go far, that girl.

3rd. Interaction - I often get a phone call from Little E on a Friday. He likes a chat.

4th. Liquid - our white ceramic liquid soap holder on the kitchen window sill between two bulb planters.

5th. Rubbish - I'll tell you what's rubbish: too much half term homework and taking turns on the computer.

and:



6th. Packaging - Mickey Mouse parcel tape on a book sent from Japan.

7th. Damaged - I over-ground our salt grinder, so we're on basic plastic until I buy another one

8th. Fence - I like this one. It's our little ladybird house on the garden fence.

9th. Compact - The smaller Ariel fits in the cupboard. The bigger size doesn't.

..and eight is probably enough for now. Today's prompt?  Sky high! Now, let me think..

Thanks again to Suzie for the inspiration and to everyone who lets me have a peep into their world every day.

I'm Thinking of Marie

I've loved seeing The (Not So) Small One's photos of Paris. Along with the fun let's-all-waer-silly-hats-in-McDonalds ones, there are several beauties. She's old enough now to take pictures which reflect her own interests; and interested enough to enjoy looking at them with me. One in particular caught my eye.

A view from the Eiffel Tower. It's Paris spread out before us. But the focus is on those bars. Any other city, any other view and I wouldn't have thought of it - but I saw those bars and suddenly we both became Marie Antoinette. Of course the Eiffel Tower wasn't there when she was imprisoned. But we looked at that beautiful city through the bars and we wondered: did she see it too? Like that, through bars, many years ago?

I used some red, white and blue, lots of old Maya Road rub-ons and a cockerel, cut on The Slice, for France and the Revolution. Oh, and it's based on a sketch I spotted at Elle's Studio because it featured banners. Again.

Hurray for Humf - My Monthly Make

Hurray for Humf. Humf is finished. Don't know what a Humf is? No, neither did I until I visited Little E and my sister produced the knitting pattern.

"I thought you might help me with one," she said, "Actually, no, I thought you might like to make one."

So I did. Humf is short, round, purple and stars in his own TV show. He looks like this:

Pattern bought on Ebay. "Don't forget your Humf card," Little E said as I left, and he pressed it into my hand

I'm moving swiftly past a certain family member who thought Humf looked like a Barney the Dinosaur who had let himself go. And I'm putting my Little E's Humf forward for my Monthly Make with Annie the Felt Fairy (more details here - it's not too late to join in!). Then I'm parcelling him up for Little E's birthday and waving him off with a sigh of relief. Humfs are hard.

I'm a Big Girl Now

Do you ever have one of those moments when whatever you are doing pulls you up short and you think - I really am a grown-up now?

It happens to me when I'm driving our two about.We all moan about it, I know; the taxi-ing teenagers seem to require. But underneath it all? I quite like it.

When I was their age there was no one to give me a lift. We walked everywhere, the three of us; and we lived in town so, really, it was okay. But, if I wanted to go anywhere at night, to anything with a late finish, I had to persuade a friend to leave me home. I got pretty good at persuasion. Then I passed my driving test and I was the one with the car. It was my job to deliver my sister to her piano lesson or my brother to his shift at the Hospital Radio. But it still felt a little strange. Most of my friends thought I was very lucky to have a car I could use whenever I wanted. Few of them realised It was simply becasue my mum was no longer able to drive. I was a bit of a car owning fraud.

But now? Now I like to get that call - "Mum, the bus didn't come" or "Mum, hurry up, dancing starts in ten minutes." I'm doing it for real. I'm doing it right. I'm a big girl now.

layout has a mix of Amy Tan and October Afternoon and the first of my 365 photo to make it onto a page



Photo 365+1

Alright, I'll admit it. I have a little bit of catching up to do before I can show you this week's collection of 365+1 photos. My attention has wandered. But we have been busy and I have remembered to add a Photoshop app to my phone. I even (very) nearly signed up to Instagram. So I'm still thinking about taking more pictures.

Like these ones:

25th. Should be still, but I swapped it with motion when I took this picture of Little E and his windmill.
26th. Free Choice. Little E in his brand new glasses. He looks cuter than ever (and he's being a very good boy about keeping them on).
27th. Amazing. Time for The (Not So) Small One to set off on the long awaited schooltrip.
28th. Fluffy. Feeling rebellious, I went for a rat. Or maybe he's one of the three blind mice.



29th. Kitchen Utensil. Sent from a friend in the States for Christmas. I wish I hadn't taken the beautiful big red bow off before I decided I was going to take a picture.

30th. Collection. A shelf of old shirts, just waiting to be reused in a new project. The day after I took this, The Accountant had a clear out and I added three more to the pile.

31st. Wheels. Shopping trolleys. The worst wheels in the world.

1st Feb. Accessory. Back from Paris, with the latest Third Form must-have.

Again, thanks to Suzie for the prompts. That's eight more little stories I have to tell..

Taking It Easy

It's Half Term holiday here at High in the Sky. That means haircuts, lie-ins and way, way too much project work. What's with all the homework? I think they need a break.

So we've been trying to do other things too, and I haven't had a chance for much cutting and sticking. I do have two cards I made for Midnight Rooster

using a mix of previous kits

because they all go together so well. I've cleared a bit of space on my desk and I'm starting to dream of the new CHA collections. Mmm..what did you think? Echo Park's This and That; Lilybee's Buttercup; Pink Paislee's Prairie Hill, Studio Calico's Take Note; MME's Follow Your Heart all look good from here. And October Afternoon. Of course.

There have been an overwhelmingly amazing number of entries for Storytelling Sunday this month. Over fifty! (and still time to join in if you'd like to..) Thanks to everyone who gets involved

Have a good Wednesday whatever you are up to!

Storytelling Sunday 2: The Words The Pictures

Happy Sunday, Storytellers! It's the first Sunday of the month, second chance of the year, to join our growing band of dedicated Storytellers.

I'm going short again this month (did I hear laughing at the back? That's height-ist!). One photo, a few sentences; but I think the story's all there. It can be a good writing exercise, trying to distil everything you want to say into the fewest possible number of words. But it can also be a great place to start - a photo you love and the first thought which pops into your head when you look at it. I'm trying it today:

Those Gates





My first year at university. St Valentines Day. I was passing thses gates when a local radio crew ambushed me.

"We're live on air," they said, "tell us how your Valentines Day is going.."

"Argh." I said, "No thanks."

..and I ran away. Which I still think is a shame. Because I'd love to hear now what I said then about a boy who was starting to mean the world to me....

That's my story. How about yours? Short or tall, we'll read them all. Write your Stytelling Sunday post, introducing it and ensuring you link back here so that your readers can join in too. Lots of words or a photo and a caption, or a combination of the two. The choice is yours. We love all sorts of stories all sorts of ways here. Bring them on!

The small print - which I'm not making small because I would like you to read it. I firmly believe we're telling stories in the round here. One person starts and then turns to the next. You can't do it in isolation. So I'm asking everyone who adds a link to be sure to say hello to at least a couple of the other storytellers. Now, let's read..



Hello Tree Skirt

It's an out-of-season page. But I'm unrepentant. That felt banner just had to be used. And where did it need  to go? Well, that was obvious..

and the detail:

Felt banner from "Papermint Mocha" kit by Midnight Rooster

Storytelling Sunday this coming Sunday! Mmm.. a love story, maybe? Or something pink, or flowery, or chocolate related? Newcomers welcome. Old-timers greeted with a hearty cheer. Come one, come all..