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.