Olympic Fever has hit

I would be the first to admit that when London won the Olympic bid I let out a big groan. Why would we want to host the Olympics? What was the likelyhood that we would be ready in time?
Gradually I have been proved wrong and slowly my excitement has been building, yes I did get very grumpy at the whole ticket fiasco (I had a daughter desperate to see the gymnastics). I have enjoyed coming down to London on the train & watching in amazement as the stadium progressed. We were lucky enough to get Paralympic tickets (swimming, cycling & athletics) & we got a real buzz when I collected the tickets from the post office. Looking on the plans to see where we will be sitting.
Yes we did go & see the Olympic torch go through Colchester High Street in the rain & yes we have been Olympic spotting for weeks now. We spot (& count) the signs, cars & buses. We have now started spotting people in Olympic 2012 uniforms, this leads to great excitement from my daughter trying to guess what they do, I wonder what she would actually do if she saw an actual athlete.
This school holiday will be full of Wenlock Mascot searching & watching sport on tv. We have plans to go on the cable car as well. So the day before the opening ceremony we braved the traffic & came down to London. We found these amazing mosaics in the mall & plan to use them as inspiration when we attempt to do our own mosaics later in the holidays.
I also finally found the Heroes tin bus, which I think we will be tucking into while we watch the ceremony tomorrow.
So will anybody out there be joining me in cheering for Team GB?

Finished Crochet Project

Yes I did it I managed to finish a crochet project. Admittedly it is not the one I intended, but a finished project, is a finished project.
I just realised I haven't mentioned what I have finished other than it was crocheted. Can you tell I am pleased with myself? I finished (there is that fabulous word again) a granny square pillow for my girlie. Granny squares are a great way to start crochet and they grow so quickly. There are loads of tutorials on the web, just type granny square into google.
Here is my girlie with said finished pillow. The colours go great in her room, I used Patons Smootie DK (double knit).

It really is July!

Hello Blog, remember me? I am the lady who last posted on here in May. Yes I know I have left you but lets be honest, you know that I am a sucker for some sunshine and a holiday was much needed. Just in case you are interested blog, I had a fabulous time.

So what have I been up too? Well before we went away I managed to get some layouts done that featured DD's eighth birthday, yes my baby girl is now eight.

This layout features my two favourite people, I stamped the background which says "precious moments". I really like these papers they are from My Minds Eye, Stella & Rose, I love that they are not really girlie, so are great for layouts that have my DH on.

The layout below is very girlie, as it should be, with DD & her friends on it.  They were all so giggly &  they had the fidgets. I think that they all had a good time at the cinema & then pizza after.

I am trying to use some different coloured backgrounds, as I seem to have lots of white ones in my albums. I also used something new for me, washi tape. Eileen at a previous crop had given me some to try. I wasn't sure, but she assured me that it is really easy to use & that once I start I will want more. Eileen was right, it is really easy to use & I have ordered myself some. I blinged the wash tape up to add to the girlieness.

Another bold background below, there is nothing like some bright pink. Again something else new for me, I inked round a doily to add something different to my page. Really simple and easy and they seem to be coming back into fashion, maybe because of the jubilee? I also used a different size photo, 4x4. I love the effects that Hipstamatic & Instagram can add to your photos, so being able to print to print them out in all their glory is fab.

Last week DD had a tudor school trip, luckily for me Nanny was able to make DD's costume that was needed. Thinking about this I thought it was about time I scrapped the photos from the last dress up day that DD had at school, Mad Science Day. Looking at these photos I thought it would be great to have a go at the hexagon phase that seems to be going round. Karen posted a tutorial on her blog, so I thought I would have a go. Bonus it is a double pager!

In between scrapping I am still plodding away with my crochet, the bag has hit a slight hitch. I have discovered that gin and crochet do not mix, apparently a small glass affects my ability to count stitches. I have managed to complete two massive granny squares that will hopefully become a cushion cover once I have figured out how to stitch it together. Will keep you updated.