Shard of Light

For many years now, I have worked in The City (being the City of London); since 2011, close to The Tower of London. In the past three years I have tried a variety of routes to get to work, some were driven by the need for an easy, convenient journey that allowed for a period of recuperation after an illness, some by time involved. My current journey came about following a Tube Strike earlier this year that meant a few days of very unpredictable commuting (more of that on a later post).





As often happens, the result of this enforced change has become my regular routine. So now when I travel into The City on the four days each week that I am there, I have a great walk over one of London's iconic bridges and along part of The Thames Path. This route means that I get to see St Paul's, Tower Bridge, The Gherkin, Hays Galleria, The Tower of London, to name but a few. In fact, just watching what is happening on the river itself keeps me amused during the fifteen, or so, minutes to the office. It is one of my greatest pleasures of the day, and has the added benefit of keeping me really quite fit as I walk very fast, and my whole commute includes about 150 steps up or down each way, which is the equivalent of about 12 flights of stairs, just getting to or from work.

I have spotted all sorts of things during this walk, some of them are very easy to spot, some less so; some are very fleeting, as with the site I captured of The Shard. You had to be standing on exactly the right spot to see it in quite this way, and it only lasted for a very few moments before the sun moved on and the angles no longer provided the same level of drama. It was one of the many moments I have been grateful for a Camera Phone.



This is one layout that I can actually confirm the details of most of the supplies I used, helped by the visual clue, but as it is a very recent layout, I also made a note of what I used. So I can confirm that the papers are from the original Maggie Holmes Collection for Crate Paper, the die cuts are from the Styleboard Ephemera Pack, the 'You are my Fave' sticker is from the original Accent Sticker Sheet. The label sticker is from Crate Paper 'The Pier' collection, the enamel shapes are from My Minds Eye Cut & Paste and the Thickers are from American Crafts. So for once, I think I have managed to include details of everything I have used.

La Tour Eiffel

Many of the photos I take are what can only be described as 'arty' shots, so not necessarily a standard shot of the subject. I had been under the impression that this was a recent habit, but these photos were taken over 20 years ago, so clearly it has been in my blood for a while.

The layout is a straight lift from one that Shimelle Laine did just over a year ago. I loved the papers and the fact that you could use up a number of scraps to such a great effect. It worked perfectly with the photo taken straight up the inside of La Tour Eiffel.



This is a fairly recent layout using a photo I had forgotten I had taken until my Parents downsized a few years ago and decided it was past time for me to store all the bits and pieces I had acquired while I had either been living with them or in my one bedroom flat. This was a wonderful trip down memory lane because I have always enjoyed taking photos, and had been fairly organised about writing down what pictures I had taken, and then transferring that information into a photo album. So I not only rediscovered lots of long lost memories, but many, if not most of them, included the details that otherwise my memory would  have struggled with. It has been great fun scanning these pictures and then scrapping them with the added perspective of time having passed.

These photos were taken on a long weekend in Paris that my Parents kindly treated me to soon after I had had my appendix out; they felt I needed a bit of a break after a fairly rough few weeks and, as I had only just moved into my flat, my finances were a little stretched (this was at a time when mortgage interest rates were at 15%, which is eye-watering to think of now). I certainly appreciated both their generosity and their company and I remember we all had a really enjoyable time, spending much of the weekend laughing.

St Paul's

St Paul's has to be one of the most iconic images in London and of London. If you see a picture of the Dome you know exactly which City you are being shown pictures of, don't you? Or is that only because I grew up and live in and around London?

As I have worked a significant amount of my career in The City of London, the sight of St Paul's has been in my sub-concious most of my life more than for many. But it has to be one of the greatest sights. It withstood heavy bombing during World War Two and although there are many more modern buildings around it now than when it was first built, there is a sense that there has been a degree of sympathy and consideration in the designs of these, particularly in more recent years. There is one building that is only just being finished now, that was designed specifically to ensure that the view of St Paul's Dome from other parts of The City was not interrupted.


The Cathedral is additionally special for our family as my Father is a volunteer guide and travels into The City once a week to share his knowledge and passion for the building and its history with tourists from far and wide.

There is something about this layout that just worked. Sometimes it happens that way. The photo is in colour, although because it was taken in the dark, it has a feeling of black and white, and I think that is why the basically monochrome supplies work, with just a hit of very pale aqua to lift the design. Unfortunately this is yet another layout that I did not keep a note of the supplies I used, so am not able to provide that information. Eventually, when I have caught up with recording my older layouts I will be able to include that information. I will try to include some more recent layouts amongst the older ones so I can include some of these details.

Happy Couple

One of the things I am thankful for, and there are many, many things, is that both sides of my family clearly loved taking photos. As a result, I have pictures on my mother's side dating back to the 1880s and on my father's back to the First War and beyond. Every now and again, my parents will find another envelope full of goodies and I will then spend a few hours scanning them so that we have a record of them for future generations.




I think it is fair to say that my mother has been better at digging photos out and letting me scan them than my father, so for some years I had a very 'maternal side' heavy scrapbook. But a few years ago my parents moved house and as they were going through various cupboards and drawers, my father found lots of photos from his family, including this photo of my Grandparents Wedding. It was quite a society occasion and the wedding dress was very much the fashion of the time.











The layout was done for a National Scrapbooking Day Challenge a couple of years ago hosted by Two Peas in a Bucket in January 2013. The challenge was for the layout to be monochrome, but not necessarily Black and White. The papers are from a Papermania Capsule Collection, I think it was called Lincoln Linen. It seemed to lend itself to this photo, being a twist on classic monochrome. The Flower was cut using the Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Dies, the doily was an X-cut die, the border around the journalling was a Martha Stewart punch around the page set, and the gems are Papermania. I imagine the the mist was Studio Calico.

Monarch of the Glen

There is a park near us that we rarely go to, but in it there are lots of Deer, and because it is a suburban park, they are all very accepting of people. As a result of this it is fairly easy to get close to them with out them getting spooked.

On this occasion, we were actually cycling past one side of the park and I spotted this white deer. Now I accept that they are not that rare, indeed I understand that in Fallow Deer the 'white' colour is not that uncommon at all, but I had never seen one before, so I came to a halt and got the camera out to take a few snaps.




The layout is one from my 'before journalling' phase, so the only writing other than the title is the date. This is a layout that I am very tempted to go back and change slightly. There is a perfect spot for journalling under the title and then down the left side of the photo. I am also tempted to add a bit more embellishment. I will have to have a serious think about whether to change it or not. I am always a little reluctant to change layouts as they are as much a record of my style as a scrapbooker as the photos as a record of what I found inspiring. This one would just be such and easy one to 'fix'.

Watch this space, the layout may appear again in a new guise one of these days.

Fizz Fridays

My mother's nickname is 'Fizz', there is a story behind it, but that is not for sharing here. The fact that it is her nickname is the point to be aware of in order to understand why I would possibly want to take a picture of an advertisement for a promotion on Sparkling wine outside a pub. The sign suggests that you should 'put some sparkle into your Friday', well my mother puts sparkle into every day of the week, not just Fridays.

The layout was another 'messy stack' using up lots of bits I had after a weekend of scrapping, I am fairly certain the blue with white polka dots has been cut to stretch it, in fact I think all of the strips will have been treated the same way, it is a common thing for me to do when I have got to the end of the bigger pieces and is something I really enjoy doing, seeing what sort of layout I can make when there is almost not enough to make a layout at all.

Beach Huts - I appear to have a problem!

I had not realised it before, but as I was going through my scrapbooks recently sorting them out, I suddenly realised that Beach Huts seem to have a fascination for me. These layouts are not the only ones I have with Beach Huts as the main feature, and I have just ordered some prints of the most recent ones I have spotted. What is it about them that means I cannot resist getting the camera out? I think it is a combination of a number of things; they can look so pretty when they are all painted in set colours, but there is also a part of me that thinks is is memories of 'Wendy Houses'. Not that I every had a 'Wendy House', and maybe that is the problem, a subconscious part of me that has always wanted one.

These examples are from the French and Kent coasts. The French huts were in Cayeux-sur-mer, which we visited during a trip to The Somme. There are some 400 wooden huts along a wooden path that runs for about a mile and a quarter so you can avoid walking on the shingle. The Kent huts were in Broadstairs. Both sets are most attractive, and would have been less so if they were not so beautifully colour coordinated.

In both cases I was keen to get shots of them from the less usual angle as well as a 'normal' shot. I remember scrapping these on the same day, which was perhaps fortunate as it highlighted the issue that I had started my collection of Beach Hut shots. It allowed me to add 'Also' to the second layout. In both cases there is a distinct lack of journalling. I do contemplate going back and adding some details to some of these pages, but part of me thinks that they should be what they are, a moment in my scrapbooking journey when that was not part of my process. I am not convinced that is the right choice, so who knows, I may yet go back, there is certainly sufficient space to add a few details. What do you think?