Layouts Catch Up

So I recently (ok maybe not so recently as it was in the first weekend of March) went away with my scrappy friends on our annual retreat. We where squirrelled away in the Hertfordshire counrtyside with the Black mountains looking down on us. We stayed in a wonderful place called Dukes Farm, Craswall in Hereford which I would highly recommend as it's brilliant. 

Myself and the Sparks outside our cottage called Goose Cotts. 

It was so warm and cosy with its wood burning fires and beautiful beams, a lovely venue to catch up with the girls (and boys...3 of our hubby's go too)where we could eat, drink and be merry!! 

Wot'a bunch of posers!! 

Jess, Gemma and as if you didn't know that's me on the right in Green in case you wanted to know who exactly the MAD IRISH WOMAN is?!??

We had great craic!! 

We always do...all someone has to say is legs akimbo or feckitty feck feck and the rest of us will probably dissolve into fits of giggles. 

The stories I could tell...

But there was some serious work to be done too!! I might not have made as many cards this year as I normally would've as we all fed our scraps to the talented Lee (for her amazing art journals!) but I did exceed my expectations on layouts. 

Drum roll please..............

I made 6!! 

Yes that's right 6....now some of you may snigger at this (it does nothing for a girls mojo to sit beside Jess, Gemma or Jules as they are the fastest Scrappers in the west!!) So without further ado here are my layouts. 

They all need journalling, titles, (well maybe only in some cases) and the dates, so other then that they are done. All of the above I have/will procrastinate about which is why I'm amazed I got so many done in the first place. 

Right that's it for now, peeps.  

Slan 

Txx  

Progress on THE SHACK (part 1)

So not sure if I've mentioned before but I have a CRAFT SHACK at the end of my garden. It's my equivalent to the bat cave, man shed or craft room, if you will. It has a bit of a story to it...

It's named in homage to my Grandad Leo...

Here he is with my Nanny...The Scarff's, my mam's parents. 

They have both had a huge influence on my life and at their house my Grandad built his SHACK about 55 years ago. It consisted of two buildings that joined together across the bottom of his garden. One housed The Glasshouse where all manor of gardening things happened & grew. The other was always The Workshop with the added addition of a drum kit which is how I remember it when I was growing up. I remember my uncles in the later & my Grandad pottering about the glasshouse usually managing to find us kids several jobs, which I might add we loved doing because he never made it seem like work. 

So you see it's only fitting that my craft space, my heaven (even if it is a messy one), my room at the bottom of the garden be called The Shack!! As it's where I potter about...I'm very lucky too as mine is a lot more substantial then the one my beloved Grandad built, although his IS still standing even if it has now become a run down ramshackle. 

My dad (Granda Pat) & The Sparks (my hubby) with help and lots of advice from my brother, Mark (he has his own office at the bottom of his garden) built The Shack over the course of about a year, finishing it last summer. (Please excuse the semi-naked workman figure of my father lol it was very hot) 

It was a labour of love and done on a budget that gradually increased as my plans for it changed. It's footprint is bigger then I intended (10ft x 14ft, slightly bigger then the traditional shed I was picturing in my head lol) All thanks to my dad as he knew I'd need every inch of it as it's already bursting at the seams. 

Leah helping with the roof timbers. 

With its 2 part cement base, timber frame, reclaimed window & door, foraged lights and radiator but a state of the art roof (I kid you not!!) just to keep it airtight and water safe so no constant worries about paper becoming damp, it should last well over 50 years. It is heated & has super lights so there are very little overhead shadows which is great when working on crafty projects late into the evening. It only needs a small step at the front and a new pathway leading up to it which will both be summer projects. The grass has become very water logged and slippery under foot due to the wet English weather this past winter and constantly threading up and down on it since the shack was finished has done it no favours either! 

So that's it for this first part...more of my SHACK story and photos next time. 

Thanks for reading

Slan 

Txx 

Me on a Monday/Memorandum Monday

A few FIRSTS in this post!!

FIRST Blog post of 2016.

FIRST time joining in with Sian from High in the Sky. (Lots of my friends already join in). More on this in a mo...

FIRST time baking Cinnamon Swirls for family breakfast on a Sunday morning.

So the idea behind Sian's Meme (for those who don't know is to blog about your weekend in some way!) This year Sian has decided to shake it up a bit by renaming it Memorandum Monday whereby you share something you did over the weekend FOR THE FIRST TIME!! 

So mine was learning that making cinnamon swirls out of a readymade tin makes for a quick, guilt free breakfast along side scrambled eggs on toast for a lovely family breakfast at the kitchen table. It is one of my goals this year to use our table for dinning rather then storage!!! 

Another goal is to learn to use technology better, something I'm borrowing from Sandra over at All Things Pretty. 

I am the first to admit I'm rubbish with techy stuff of any kind...I get my hubby to download & back up my photos from my iPhone, I don't know how to do simple things like making clickable links in this blog, (I have looked it up but can't seem to do it on the blogger app!) nor do I have PayPal, eBay or Amazon accounts (that work!!) I can barely manage my online banking & frequently get locked out of that for forgetting passwords & security questions!! 

Anyway I've rambled on enough already...for those that don't know me I can talk for Ireland & probably England too so tend to blog in the same manner!! 

slán go fóill 

(Bye for now) 

Tara xXx