CCW Scrap Map Challenge

Since joining the scrapbooking website UKScrappers I have been learning new techniques, meeting very friendly folk and thoroughly enjoying myself.
I particularly enjoy taking part in the weekly, monthly & house challenges.

This is a layout which I did for the April Week one challenge, set by Sue from Creative Craft World.
You might recognize the photo of Ben which I used in my Tartan Parade post earlier this week.
I also entered it into the CCW April Scrap Map challenge, who knows perhaps I'll be the lucky winner of a scrap kit and the chance to become a guest designer at CCW.

Fleurs de Paris

Last weekend the SP & I spent 24 wonderful hours in Paris.
We drove up to visit the Version Scrap Expo, which was being held at the Parc Floral, Vincennes.

Later we checked into the Hotel Daumesnil located close to the Chateau de Vincennes.

This beautiful florists shop was on the opposite corner to the Chateau, just across the road from the Hotel.

Sharing all these beautiful flowers with

 Liz @ Rose Vignettes for Fresh Cut Friday

and

Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday.

I'm sure they'd both be happy to see you if you called in too!

Scrap booking

With Diane & Susan- Graceland 2005

For Alphabe-Thursday this week over at Mrs Matlock's blog off on my tangent 

I'm sharing some of my recent scrap book creations.

Nick & Mr Ben June 2011

Tea for one in the garden

Susan & Me - Paris 2011

The SP jumping for joy in HHI.

Thanks to UKScrappers my scrap booking mojo is back!

the 5 most important things needed for our trip to Italy, next month

Pink Saturday - Scrap booking: Tags.

This iconic phrase has been my motto once again this week whilst I recuperated from quite a bad fall last weekend.
Don't ever try and separate two squabbling dogs whilst carrying two mugs of tea, otherwise you could end up falling flat on your face, as I did early on Saturday morning.
My knees took the brunt of the fall and I still have terrific bruises, black, blue & yellow, from my knees down to my ankles.
I was very lucky not to break anything.
My friend Gaynor broke her collar bone a few years ago, whilst performing almost the same trick, minus the dogs.
To help pass the time I have been busy crafting.
My new obsession? Tags!
The tags below were the first ones I made and I gave them away to friends, coincidentally I gave the pink one to Gaynor.

A few weeks ago I joined a fantastic online scrap booking site UK Scrappers and last week signed up for a Tag Swap.
The photo below is of the three tags I made for the Tag Swap, and I'm very pleased with how they turned out.

I hope to get back into blogger mode during the next couple of days and will be over to visit you all to catch up with what's been happening in your world this week whilst I've been awol.

Sharing my new obsession with Beverly

 @How Sweet The Sound 

and all the other participants celebrating Pink today.

Vacations & Getaways Challenge with the Inspired Scrapper

A favourite pastime of mine when I can find the time, is scrapbooking.
I became interested in scrapbooking a couple of years ago and one of my first projects was a Memory Book for my baby sister Kathryn to celebrate her big 40 Birthday.
I created a scrapbook page for every year of her life.

Earlier this week, Virginia, a member of The Inspired Scrapper Design team blogged about Vacation and Getaway scrapbook layouts and asked us to share some of our own LO's.

Some of the pages in Kathryns book featured vacations, including her and husband Andrews 10th wedding anniversary trip to Venice.





Family vacation in Florida.



Skiing in Whistler.



On a visit to us here in France.
"A Mother of Two"

Since then I've also scrapbooked some of our own vacations and getaways.

In 2007 we spent some time enjoying the area around Denia in Spain.



Enjoying tapas in a beautiful square

Mr B at the top of the Empire State Building NYC, 2009.

Life's a beach in Hilton Head.

I've really enjoyed leafing through my vacation scrapbook today, hope you've enjoyed taking a mini vacation with me too!

Sunday Favourites with Chari.

For Chari's Sunday Favourites this week here's another glimpse into la vie quotidienne here in Normandy in a post from May 2009.
Every country in Europe has it's own rules & regulations regarding recycling, it seems.
When we first moved to France, almost 13 years ago, our household garbage was collected every 2 weeks (!) after a couple of years this changed to weekly.
There were also twice yearly collections of old/unwanted metal items. These had to be placed in the street for collection and reminded us of the "sperrmuhl" collections we enjoyed when we lived in Bavaria.
Things remained that way for a long time and then we received a letter telling of a special card/permis that we could obtain from "la mairie" which would entitle us to use the local "dechetterie" or as we like to refer to it "the dump".
This certainly opened up a new world of special containers in which we could dispose of all those tricky items we had stashed in the outbuildings. Hazardous products such as old paint cans & aerosols, polysterene chips (the bane of my life), unwanted clothing, broken electrical items and much much more, the list was endless.
The "dechetterie" is very strictly operated by the "Gardien" who demands to see your "permis" when you arrive and then watches like a hawk to make sure that, heaven forfend, you place something in the wrong container.
So.....we loaded up the car at the weekend and went to the dump and as is the case with almost everything we do these days I captured the moment with my trusty Nikon Coolpix for a scrapbook page. I think it turned out quite well, n'est pas.

I'll tell you about the bottle bank another day..............................

Saturday's scraplift challenge at YMBD

Each Saturday morning a member of the terrifically talented Design Team over at YMBD presents a great layout for us to scraplift.

They always have great ideas to inspire me and here is my latest creation featuring Mr B and a bowl of strawberries & cream.

http://ymbd.blogspot.com/

YMBD On Line Crop Weekend

Just taking time to have a cup of tea and catch my breath. I have been having such a great time working on all these crop challenges, it really makes me think outside the box.

Finally did a LO for Chakras which I have wanted to do for a while just wasn't inspired before now.

Go to

http://yourmemoriesbydesign.ca/

to check out the fun for yourself and see all the great designs that people are posting.

On Line crop weekend

As some of you already know I recently started scrapbooking and am loving it.
I have hooked up with some other scrapbookin fans at YMBD and this weekend they are holding an onliine crop.
I have completed the 3 pre crop challenges already and am looking forward to attempting SOME of the remaining 18!
There is a link here on this blog to YMBD.

This is my favourite layout of the weekend.