Advent Calendar

This is my first ever attempt at anything off the page and although it took alot of messing around, I actually quite enjoyed it and am pleased with the finished product. Although with the amount it cost me to make (and I haven't even filled it with chocolates yet!) I could have bought everyone I know an advent calendar!!

Going away party take 3

This is a photo of Louise & I taken down in Plymouth on my 3rd going away party from Wrigley. It coincided with the national fireworks championships so after dinner we all went down by the Hoe and watched the fireworks display.

Christmas Day (2008...ok I am a bit behind!)

Ok so with Christmas just around the corner I decided I should get some of my 2008 Christmas photos scrapped! It is a family tradition that in the morning we take Digger down to the beach for a walk and play. Then we go back home for Christmas lunch, presents and of course...Digger's presents!

Aston Martin Experience

You may recall that my Dad & I went to Silverstone (and the heavens opened up!!) to drive an Aston Martin Vanquish. These are some of the photos of my laps. It was so much fun although the Aston Martin was not what I expected it would be to drive. I might need to re-think either my aspirations to be a racing car driver or my dream to own an Aston Martin!

Ascot Ladies

This is Lorraine, Bridget and I attempting to be ladies at Ascot racecourse in the members VIP area! I would like to think that we pulled it off nicely.









This is Bridget sulking at the end of the day because it started to rain on our parade (theoretical parade, we were just standing listening to 80's music!) We did manage to get a smile out of her though!

2 precious artworks

What trip to Paris would be complete without a trip to Le Louvre to see the most mysterious lady to have ever been painted and the most beautiful to have ever been sculpted. The Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo are 2 precious artwords housed at Le Louvre amongst thousands more valuable pieces yet these 2 ladies draw the crowds every single day of the year.

Moulin Rouge

This is a picture of Mum & I posing outside the doors to Moulin Rouge. We had been there the night before to watch the show which was my 2nd time to see the show but at least this time I knew what it was so was prepared for it. We had the dinner there before the show which was quite nice. I enjoyed the juggler and vantriliquist acts the best. I have never used feathers on a LO before however it seemed like the perfect embellishment for the showgirls theme of Moulin Rouge! I actually really like the texture and movement that they bring to it.

Sacre Coeur

This is Sacre Coeur. It is the most amazing cathedral, inside and out! There has been someone praying constantly here for 150 years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Truly remarkable. It sits high above Paris on Mt Martyr. The quote that I have put on the journalling tag is "Life is not measured by the number of breaths that we take but by the moments that take our breathe away" as this is just so true of this place.

Le Eiffel Tower

Of the hundreds (and I mean HUNDREDS) of photos I took of the Eiffel Tower, it was hard to only choose 2 for my Paris album. I decided to do a day shot and a night shot.

Beautiful moments to remember

You may or may not remember but I bought a Paris themed album in preparation for the many photos I would take whilst on holiday with my parents in Paris. Well...the album is still in shipment but that hasn't stopped me from making a start! This is going to be my cover page. I titled this page beautiful moments to remember in Paris because this photo is exactly that! We spent an hour sat in the warmth of the Summer evening at this location whilst my Dad played with his new camera so I started playing with the settings on my little hand held. It is amazing the difference that even the compact cameras can produce if you change the settings. I am going for a bit of a shabby chic look in this album so lots of embellies!

I have so much to tell you...

I don't know who coined the phrase "so much to do, so little time to do it in" but currently that feels all too true! Ever since moving back to Australia life has been hectic. I guess it is trying to come to terms with change, a new job, living back at home, commuting to work, no longer living with David. It all seems very strange. I guess that is why I took the step to buy loads of stash so that I could get a comfortable constant back in my life and carry on scrapbooking in a few stolen 30 minute breaks when I got home from work of an evening or during a weekend. I have completed loads of LO's and for some reason - am really happy with pretty much every single one of them (rare for me) So...here goes...I will upload lots of LO's that I have done in the past 3 weeks. I also have a few new pairs of shoes to show you and I am currently working on the kaisercraft advent calendar so might start taking pics of my progress of that too...grab yourself a cuppa and a biscuit as there is about to be alot to see!

Home again

So all the planning and packing is finally over and so is the long flight. I am home. A little jet lagged but oh so glad to be back. Life goes on...I have started my new job although I am yet to really add any value. I guess this is the way things are when you start a new role but everyone else in the office is running around crazy for a project but I can't help at all as I have no clue what to do! I feel slightly useless right now but hopefully I will hit the ground running soon enough. I am really missing my stash already and have found myself wanting to shuffle stash, even if not take the bold step to actually scrap a LO!

And so it continues...

So here is the 10:50pm picture the night before the removalists arrive to pack all of my belongings away. The sorting is going well, the rubbish went out tonight (4 big HEAVY bin bags) and the kitchen is almost empty and has been placed in the necessary piles. All that is left to do is to unbuild the bigger pieces of furniture (table and chairs, wardrobe, bed and sofa) and then I am all done!

I packed my case today - thought I had done really well with 21.2kg (filled to almost bursting) until I realised there were still clothes hanging up to dry and also clothes in the washing machine waiting to be hung out to dry...oh dear!

The 5th pile

The time has come where I have to part with my favourite pairs of shoes so that they can be shipped back to Australia and they will be there waiting for me when I get back! A sad moment...

Today I need to tackle the kitchen and pack my case ready for the removalists arrival tomorrow morning. I must remember not to get rid of the kettle, coffee cups and tea / coffee / sugar as I am sure we will need a few cups to keep us going through the day!

This part of my life is called organising...

Well the time has come where there is only 8 more days left in the country and only 1.5 more days in my flat so I have been busily organising everything into 4 different piles:

1. Shipping
2. Charity
3. Rubbish
4. Suitcase

As is always the way - I want almost everything in the suitcase pile but am only allowed 23kg. But i found a solution for 20kg of shoes to be air freighted back to Australia and they leave first thing tomorrow morning and will be waiting for me upon my arrival.


This is the "shipping" pile so far. It is everything from my scrapbooking room (apart from my desk which has gone into the "charity" pile) Unfortunately I still have the bedroom and kitchen (2 biggest jobs) to do! I will put an updated picture tomorrow evening as everything "should" be finished by then, ready for when the removal men arrive at 7am Wednesday morning to box it all up.

New shoes!! (and a few other things)

OK...OK...so I now I only have 15 days until I leave the country but this was just too good a bargain to go past! Leather turquoise snake effect shoes from Reiss. Were meant to be ₤210 - last pair just happened to be in my size and were being sold for ₤40!! It was fate I tell you!! It would have been rude NOT to buy them...will 2 excuses do??




I also treated myself to this gorgeous Radley laptop bag which I have wanted for ages but never bought because it too was on sale and my theory was that in 3 weeks I am going to be a director and what director goes to work without a Radley laptop bag?? (sshhh...none of the directors I have ever worked for have...but then again...they have all been men!)

Scrapping again - The Plane

On Friday I finished work and now have 2 weeks in which to get myself organised to fly back home. So what have I done since finishing work? Slept in and scrapped! A perfect Sunday. Oh, not to mention the yummy Sunday roast I went and had for lunch at a local pub. This LO is of the plane that I jumped out of for my skydiving and is another page my for skydiving album which has taken a back seat as I have been enjoying my heritage LO's more lately! It is a very basic LO, only took 40 mins to complete but I am quite happy with the result.

Off to Paris

My parents arrived on Saturday and we have been very busy ever since! Sunday was spent in Cardiff where we spent most of our time at Cardiff castle. Monday was a trip to Boughton-on-the-water for a stroll and pub lunch in the glorious sunshine! Today it is the oh so long and highly anticipated (for my Mum) trip to Paris. I am looking forward to it as the last time I was in Paris was 2003.

They're off and running...

I had a lovely day at Ascot race day yesterday with Bridget and Lorraine. We all got dressed up and acted like high society ladies as we were in the prestigious premier enclosure. Bridget had a betting strategy of the horse with the longest socks on, Lorraine stuck with number 6 and I swapped between my normal strategy of stars to cool names. Bridget was the first with a win, then I won and Lorraine came 2nd on the very next race. That really set the mood for the rest of the day! There was a live 80's concert afterwards but I hardly knew any of the songs! Although I was slightly excited to see Boy George as he was my bedroom wall pin up...when I was 3!!

And so it begins...

OK so I have been putting this off for a long time now but you will be pleased to hear that I have finally started to take steps into what will ultimately be me packing up all of my belongings to ship back home to Australia. I have received a quote from the shipping company and on Monday I will get my shipment pick up date confirmed. As a necessary part of the packing process I have started listing non-essential items that won't be needed back at home onto ebay. Before yesterday I was totally new to ebay so this could either be a revelation for me or a total nightmare! So far I have listed 18 items on ebay for sale but am yet to get any interest in anything I have put up...patience dear Melanie!! Watch this space for more updates on how the process is going but I just wanted to say that it has at least begun...

TK Maxx bargains!

I have just come back from TK Maxx which was packed with lovely stash! I have bought 3 albums (1 12x12 post bound, 1 12x12 D-ring and 1 8.5x11 post bound) and a load of making memories embellies (4 copies in each pack!) and only spent 20quid!! You have got to be happy with that!!!

Favourite shoes...pair 8

Well I am almost at the end of my top 10 shoes for 2010. These are a coral coloured, 5 inch block heel, t-bar sandal with peep toe. They are so cute and have a really lovely floral pattern on the under side.

Stamping & Flocking...Flocking & Stamping

This is a LO where I was just playing around with stamping and flocking with my new stash! The photos are of Soller in Mallorca which is basically 1 big orchard of Oranges and Lemons sandwiched between the base of some mountains and the seaside. Very pretty place and a funny trip to get their, a very old, 1910 steam train that is wooden takes you there! It is pretty slow going as you climb up and over the mountains.

Favourite shoes pair 7

So we are on the home straight of my top 10 shoes of 2010 with pair number 7. They are a white patent leather, peep toe 3 inch heel with 4 straps that can either be done up as shown or criss-crossed over into XX which also looks nice.

I have a gorgeous strappy white leather belt that goes well with these shoes.

6 weeks and counting

So I have reached my 6 week since tearing my calf muscle mark, went
to the physio this morning hoping he was going to tell me I was allowed to start running again but he is still not happy with how it is healing so that means still no running for me. Back again next Monday for another test and I am hoping that he will then tell me I can start running again. Although I think it is going to be difficult to get back into it!

Basingstoke crop...my last crop in England :0(

Last night I went to a crop in Basingstoke with Bridget which will be my last in England. I completed 4 LO's, including 1 which was a photo swap with Bridget and Liz did my photo in the swap.



This is the first LO I completed which is for my heritage album (which btw is now finished!) I don't know exactly who the people are in the photo unfortunately, just that they are relatives on my Nan's side of the family. This LO started out as a plan to be plain and simple but before I knew it, I had practically thrown my entire bloom and embellie box at it! I love the finished product. I think my favourite part is the flocked stamp I did that frames the lovely chipboard clock. I spent almost an hour trying to figure out what to put into the frame once it was on the page! This clock was just made for it I think.





This was the 2nd page I completed and is a picture of my Pop (2nd from right) on a day off fishing with his mates. I am not sure why this was seen as such a relaxing past time as the net they are dragging in sure does look heavy! The small journal dot says "smooth seas do not make skillful sailors" I mainly used scraps up for this LO.









This was the final LO I did (of my own, I also did a LO with Bridget's photos). This was an ultra simple LO where I just added the first 3 words that came to my head when we touched down from skydiving..."LET'S GO AGAIN!" It will be my final page in my skydiving album which has taken a bit of a backseat to my heritage album as I find the heritage photos as much more inspirational and great to work with. I have now run out of heritage pics so will probably start doing more of my skydiving pics again.

Favourite shoes pair 6

These shoes have yet to be worn as they are new but I like the shape of them as they are different. If I had a choice, they wouldn't be hot pink but without a hot pink pair of shoes in my collection I thought it was worth a go!

Favourite shoes pair 5

So these are the shoes I wish I could wear today for my presentation. Nothing says "I mean business" more than a 5in stiletto, platform heel in glossy red leather! People know you mean business when these enter a room and the more I look at them, the more I think they should appear on the top 10 list a lot earlier than position 5! (Oh and yes...I do have a thing for red shoes but the other pair of red shoes you have seen earlier (see favourite shoes pair 2) are TOTALLY a different red than these - by at least 2 shades!) :0)

Wish me luck

Today I need to give the best performance of my life! I am giving a presentation to 15 of the most senior managers at work and although I am incredibly happy with the work I have put together...I am still a little nervous! I have done 3 costume changes already this morning from power suit to 50 year old secretary and inbetween. I am currently in the inbetween but I may still change before it is time to go...

With any luck, they will be so enthralled by my work that no-one will notice what I am wearing...I really wish I was allowed to wear a pair of killer heels today and not flat shoes!

Favourite shoes pair 4

These are a 5 inch platform, gold snake skin with tie up laces. They certainly don't go with everything but they are fantastic!

The boy, the girl

This was a quick LO completed at the July Early crop. The photo was taken by Kasey when she came to London and is probably 1 of the best photos I have of David and I as he is actually not pulling silly faces in it! I didn't really know what to do with the photo but am quite happy with the result. It took me everything I knew not to keep adding bits to it so have tried keeping it very simple.

Prekistolen, Norway LO

This was my attempt at the July Early crop sketch challenge. The picture is of me sat on top of Prekistolen fjord after a few hours of hiking up there. The view was amazing and it was really exhilirating to achieve it although it was the reason that I now have messed up calf muscles!

Togetherness LO

A LO from my final Early crop. I had actually scrapped this photo of my Mum and her parents and brothers and sisters once before but wasn't happy with the outcome so have repeated it and I am really happy with it this time.

Newbury Comedy Festival

I went to the Newbury Comedy Festival last night for a double bill of Danny Bhoy and Mark Watson. It was a great night and I really enjoyed Danny Bhoy, he made me laugh so much. Mark Watson had moments of hilarity but seemed to ramble quite a lot and I didn't find his stories as funny. Although I do think he may have slightly suffered from being the 2nd man on stage which was a lot to live up to after Danny Bhoy had put in such a great performance. It really did get me thinking though. I love going to comedy shows, and shows full stop. And it is something that I don't nearly do enough of. I think I need to make much more of an effort to go and see shows.

Favourite shoes pair 3

These are my blue suede shoes! A 4 inch heel, zip at the back and suede straps they are just lovely and electric blue! I must admit that they clash with most items in my wardrobe unless I wear all black but they are gorgeous.

I completed this LO at the Kington st Michael crop last Saturday. I took this picture of David during a very long walk in Norway. We had been hiking for 4 hours and thought we were reaching the end so David found a burst of energy and set off across the field. Unfortunately it only led us to the edge of the lake and we had to climb up rock face and walk along a cliff for another 90 minutes before we got back! I really like the photo because the sky is full of character and there is a lovely old fashioned swing tied onto a branch of the tree in full bloom.

This is a double LO I completed at the Kington st Michaels crop last Saturday. The pictures are of my Nan's holiday to America in 1981. She went all by herself and joined a tour once she was there. I have kept the 2 LO's quite simple and semi-vintage in colour schemes using just 1 sheet of PP and 2 different cardstocks with a few bits of ribbon, lace and blooms to embellish. I hand stitched around the edge but wished I had not started after doing about half of the first page!

Favourite shoes pair 2

These shoes held poll position for about 2 years as my favourites and have only just been knocked off quite recently. They are a 4 inch heel, high gloss red leather with gold capped shoe laces. Looking at them now I am wondering just why they have lost poll position...they may return to number 1 place soon enough!

oooo aaaahhhh....OUCH!!

Am just back from my latest physio appointment and the massage started to feel good...and then he started on the deep muscle massaging and the pain was right back again! Although the good news is that he has said that I might be allowed to start running again in 2 weeks (but still no high heels for another month!)

Favourite shoes - Pair 1

So this blog was going to be about all sorts of things but I did call out shoes as being a main topic. Here is a photo of my current pair of favourite shoes. They are a gorgeous peep toe 5.5inch stiletto heel made of fabric in zebra print with a gorgeous grungy flower made out of a heavy duty zip! What is not to love about them!!

Hello my name is Mel...

and I am a shopaholic!! No really...somebody really must stop me! I just came back from the high st to get a pint of milk for a cup of coffee...I come back with 4 items from the Monsoon sale (and my pint of milk). All of the items were:

1. Gorgeous
2. A must have
3. ON SALE!!! (some items up to 70% off!)

The lady said to me as I was paying that I have 7 days to return anything that is not right...technically speaking...all 4 items were not right because it was not right to buy them!

Oh dear - can anyone help me? Or am I just a lost cause?

The beginning of an era...

So here goes...I am starting a blog. Mostly because I have seen and been inspired by friends' beautiful blogs and now that I have started mine...well it is probably fair to say that I will struggle to make it as beautiful. These gadgets and background designs seem to be totally over my head and I just can't seem to work it all out! But I am here, I am trying and we shall take it as a lesson to be learnt in life. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee and watch this space for how totally design inept I may be! After all, someone famous once said "don't judge a book by it's cover" and I shall ask you to reserve the same judgement of this blog.