Gothic - 365+1

DSD by Athena- Elegance, Maya de Groot - Going Out with a Bang

Cheating with an old photo from New College Oxford taken in 2008. Had a busy day today and the weather was not condusive to taking photos. 

Silhouette - 365+1

DSD by Athena - Basics

This is a silhouette I made from a photograph of my son, his wife and my grandson walking along the road.  I used it on their wedding anniversary card earlier this year.  Isn't it amazing how you can recognise people by their silhouettes,  I love this little family group, it speaks to my heart.

Cookie Dough Truffles - Free Choice 365+1

Cafe Vienna - Inspiration Lane

I'll be blogging about these Cookie Dough Truffles at Farmersgirl Kitchen over the weekend, but as it was free choice I thought I'd put them in a layout.  They certainly got a good reception at both my work and my husband's work. I've used probably my favourite ever digi kit:  Cafe Vienna, it was a collaborative kit at, the now defunct, Inspiration Lane.

Weathered - 365+1

Snickerdoodle Designs - Granny Finch's Garden and Outside my Window

The back of our sheds is not a pretty sight. It has been patched up so many times, different bits of tin, now rusty, boards and gates.  When my husband saw me working on this layout, he pointed out what he is planning to do next, something to do with digging out the bottom of that bit with the gap and back filling it with gravel and reboarding it.  The never ending battle against the weather and nature, taking back our man-made structures, goes on.

Don't forget to look back at the layout(s) for yesterday which I only posted today.

Still Life - 365+1

Fresh Day - Albina Designs

Fresh Day - Albina Designs

Posting a day late in the challenge, but you are getting two for the price of one!  This cheeky bunny was hopping along in our yard, then sat down for a wash.  I couldn't get my head around arranging anthing into a still life as I was out at my yoga class last night.  So tonight I  had a look through the pics I took at the weekend and found some STILL life and some MOVING life.  Enjoy!

Sizzling Colours for 365+1

So Inspired Collab from Inspiration Lane

It is a little warmer today, but certainly not 'Sizzling', but I took this photo of my mesembryanthemums (Livingstone Daisies) yesterday when they opened their little faces to the sun.  The colours are bright and definitely sizzling!

Summer Pleasures - 365+1

Snickerdoodle Designs - Outside my Window, Scraplift from Anna Bjorklund in Scrap365 July 2012

Every year we have swallows nesting in our sheds on the farm. Summer begins when they arrive from South Africa,  I know they make a mess, but I love to see them popping their heads over the top of the nest and then finally flying off.  At the end of the summer they are all lined up on the electricity and telephone wires, waiting to head off south for the winter.

I managed to catch these two in the nest, but they weren't keen on me taking photos and gave me a real fright by suddently flying out over my head!

Nature - 365+1

Redju - Strawberry Fields

Stealing this photo from Farmersgirl Kitchen, my cooking blog.  Homemade strawberry tarts, 100% Natural!

Rebecca Cooks! - 365 Same but Different

Amy Stoffel - La Cucina

Here is Rebecca's last outing for 365+1, so I've put her to work in the kitchen!  Back to the usual variety of prompts from now on.

Rebecca reads Scrap 365 for 365+1

Scrap-lifted from a design by Emy Buxton in Scrap 365 July 2012; Kit: Chris Greiser & Athena Gray Collab

I'm on a bit of a catch up, so this is my layout for Wednesday 15th June, Same but Different.  Here is Rebecca reading the copy of Scrap 365 that I picked up on Wednesday.  I used one of the layouts in the magazine to inspire this one.

Sunshine - 365+1

I've a couple of 'same but different' photos to catch up on but work has been rather hectic and I haven't got home till later so they will have to wait till the weekend.  However, this prompt caught my attention and I enjoyed playing around with some filters and mask in Photoshop to create this posterised sun setting on the floods in our field.  It rained all last night and has been raining off and on all day. Stopped now, but I'm sure there is more to come.

Rebecca says...365+1

 

It's our Wedding Anniversary today, we don't make a big thing of it, but always get a card from each of our Mums.  Rebecca is joining in with the celebrations.

Rebecca smells the flowers - 365+1

Nanum from Designs by Mozz

I think I've finally flipped!  The whole Rebecca Rag Doll 'same but different' prompt is a lot of fun.  But I found myself rushing home from work, redressing Rebecca in her genuine 1970s cord trousersuit and taking her outside to take photos next to my flower tubs!  More madness from the 365+1ers on Suzie's blog

Get Funky June Challenge

I spied Kathy's project for Get Funky Challenge, the challenge blog for Funky Hand and thought I'd enter.  I downloaded the Funky Freebie (it's the multicoloured paper) and included it in this digital layout, sampling the colours to create some co-ordinating papers and elements.  The Passion flower is a photograph I took at Threave Gardens which I've turned into a 'stamp' using the filter gallery in Photoshop Elements.

Rebecca surveys the flood - 365+1

Snap - Maya de Groot

Yesterday it rained and it rained and it rained.  The field next to our house has a swampy bit that fills up with water when there is heavy rain and it is particularly full today.  My phone is in there, Rececca is just sending a text to her friend to tell her about the rain and the flooded field (can't believe I'm writing this!), it has been drier today, but still cold and dull.

Rebecca - Same but Different

DSD by Athena - Home

Continuing the theme of 'Same but Different' my phone is featuring again today.  However, when I looked my fellow 365ers photos, which mainly featured cute toys, I realised I was going to have to try harder!  I was particularly inspired by Jennie's post about her rag doll 'Cinders' and remembered that I too had a rag doll.  Poor Rebecca was stuffed in a bag at the bottom of the wardrobe.  She must be 40 years old and has a rather grubby face and her hair really needs renewed.  My mum made Rebecca from a pattern in the Woman's Weekly and I have the patterns for her clothes.  One day I will revive Rebecca but for now she will be repacked in her bag and go back in the bottom of the wardrobe.

Same...but different - 365+1

Aimee Harrison - Apple Day

For the rest of the week, we have to choose to photograph one thing in different places.  I have chosen my phone and today it is resting in the fruit bowl.

Face - 365+1

Cari Cruse - TOE, Julie Marie - Bailey, Sugarplum Paperie - Sew Cute

I'm looking after my friend's West Highland Terrier for a couple of days while she is away for work. Suzie's prompt for today is 'Face' so it was a prefect opportunity to showcase the rather handsome William in my layout.

Just for fun, Anne at Spashes of my Crafty Life suggested we find our Fairy names from the Fairy Name Generator here is mine:

My fairy name is Bindweed Goblindancer
She brings riches and wealth.
She lives at the bottom of tangled gardens and in hedgerows.
She can only be seen when the bees swarm and the crickets chirrup.
She wears tangled multicoloured skirts made of petals and has gentle green wings like a butterfly.
Get your own fairy names from The Fairy Name Generator!

Earth Tones - 365+1

Designs by Mozz - Secret Garden, Desert Flower, Forever

My herbs have really come on in the past week or so.  The rain and then the warmer, slightly muggy air seems to suit them and they are flourishing.  Some of my herb pots sit on a sandstone shelf, and you can't get much more earthy than a clay pot, made from ...earth!

Antique - 365+1

Chris Scrap - So Sweet, Pton - Art Mask and Art Mask Add on

When I was visiting my mum at the weekend, she passed on her grandmother's china to me.  I have known for some time that I would be the recipient of the china, and she decided I might as well have it now.  There are three colours of cups, plates and saucers: green, pink and yellow, all have the same rose pattern  and gold finish. 

Vintage, Frayed, Neglected, Aged - 365+1 catch-up

Sherwood Studios - Thrift, Coppercurls Designs- Generations

A catch-up layout incorporating four prompts: 160: Vintage, 161: Frayed, 162: Neglected, 163: Aged.

I've been visiting my mum and helping her clear out some items from her outhouse.  One of them was an old trunk, which unfortunately is now full of woodworm and needed to go out before it spread any further.  However, it had some great labels dated 1952 so, of course, I took some pictures.  I didn't realise that Suzie would be so kind as to come up with the perfect prompts!

Roadside - 365+1

I'm so glad I was on holiday when this prompt came up on Suzie's 365+1.  We have the most glorious hedgrows and roadsides. While some people complain about the cow parsley, I just love all the pretty little wild flowers and plants that populate our hedgrows and so do the bees as you will see in the top right photo.  It's easy to take your local scenery for granted, but every now and then I see it as others must do and realise just how fortunate I am to live in this beautiful countryside.

From the top left to right and down:  speedwell; bee on vetch; ferms; buttercup; red campion; eyebright and nettles; cow parsley and hawthorn hedges; hawthorn blossom; eyebright; more cow parsley and hawthorn hedges.

What's on your roadside?

Reaching Up - 365+1

DSD by Athena - Noteworthy

I'm often asked what the +K is on some of my posts on Twitter.  You can give bloggers who influence you a +K for different topics that they blog about, but that is only a small part of the overall Klout score.  One of the things that Klout does do is raise the profile of your blog with PR companies who might then ask you review appropriate products.  If you are interested in joining Klout to see how your score compares, you can find it at www.klout.com.  There are lots of other sites that also measure influence.

I have chosen this for today's theme 'Reaching Up'  as True Reach is one of the factors that Klout measures.

Diamond Jubilee Sparkle - 365=1

Suzie has asked us for photos with 'sparkle' and as I took a few pictures of the fireworks from the Jubilee Concert on the telly.  They certainly did sparkle and the stars shone. I've enjoyed the Jubilee more than I expected.

Colourful - 365+1

Chris Scrap - Sweet Cupcake

I've been decorating the spare bedroom all day and not finished yet, so you are getting photo of  my colourful Jubilee Tea from yesterday.

Diamond Jubilee for 365+1

I'm going 'off prompt' today as it was the day of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  You would think I had had a ringside seat, but in fact I took these photos sitting in front of my telly!  I particularly liked the Warhorse photo, but the whole flotilla was quite remarkable and an amazing spectacle.

Birthday Queen

It's my mother-in-law's birthday and as it falls on the weekend of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, I have made her a Jubilee birthday card.  I used papers and elements that were given away free in Simply Homemade magazine. 

In the distance - 365+1

It wasn't the best of days for seeing things in the distance, it was a bit misty.  I got my telephoto lens onto the camera so I could see further away and pointed it at a local landmark 'The Queensbury'.  It's a hill in the Moffat Hills and usually the first one to have snow on it.  You can just about make it out in the distance.

Isolated - 365+1

Sherwood Studio - Drift