When Life Keeps Bowling You Out...Get a Bat and Hit Back!!

The last two weeks have flown by, filled with family commitments and crisis, hopefully life has started to level out and peace will return to the Schutrup's household. Even if it is just for a while!! So bear with me whilst I bring you up to date on Lilly...if you prefer not...then scroll down for today's gift from me to you.

 

The good news is Lilly's scalded foot appears to be slowly getting better, but I was really shocked when I first saw it. I could not believe that water from a tap could inflict such an awful injury, my heart went out to the poor little mite and the pain she must have had to endure. How I wished that it could have been me instead of her, but it turns out that she is much braver than I could ever have been in that situation. It's a warning to us all on how accidents are only a second away and a child moves fast in even a second!!

Having said that she has been so brave and we haven't seen many tears, even when the dressings were being changed. The hardest part for her appears to be seeing the burn. When the dressings are changed her face screws up and she says "Oh no!". When she has her time each day with the dressing off then she sits happily...as long as the area is blocked from her view...so entertainment is required!! It's then that her favourite quilt comes in handy...it works perfectly to block her view. (It was this same quilt that inspired the papers and elements that I have made into a two part download for you all.)

Lilly's also lucky that she has such a down-to-earth mum. Charlotte has been brilliant and even although it cost here dearly, she has smiled as she dealt with Lilly's dressings and taken great pains to distract her as much as possible. That doesn't mean that the panic didn't set in when it first happened!!

Looking back over the last year life has been quite eventful for me...not all good. But I have this stubborn (or stupid?) streak and I refuse to be bowled out. When life throws me or mine hard balls....I get a bat and hit back....even harder!! It may not always be a good thing, but I just hang in there and wait for the chaos to stop. Mind you .....it can take a while, so patience and stamina are need on this one!!!

After all nothing lasts for ever, it doesn't matter if it's good or bad...there is one thing that you can be sure of, everything has a start and an end. My husband says I have the tenacity of a bulldog...I grit my teeth and hold on tight..no matter which way the bronco bucks. That's only because I know eventually it will stop doing it...hopefully before it knocks my teeth out!!!

I use this principle in so many areas of my life..take the dentist....yep you can take mine for one, I am terrified on every visit!!! But before I go in, I tell myself "Hey, it's only 30mins....then it it's over". Saying "It's for my own good" doesn't work for me but a time limit does....I told you I was strange, lol!!

When I had my children I used the same principle. There I was in labour, feeling not so brave...ouch it hurt!! Where was that nurse with the meds? To keep myself calm and hanging in there I firmly told myself "This will only last a few hours...then it stops and think of moment when you can say hello to your own little stranger!!". It worked, but I have to admit that I kept wondering if it would stop soon..I'm really not very brave at all!! Eventually...it did!

Knowing that something has a beginning and an end really helps me hang on when the going gets tough, or if I am just feeling out and out plain scared of a situation!! I might not be sure when the end of it will come, but the comfort is that I know that somewhere down the line what ever it is will stop...hopefully the sooner the better!!

And if all else fails..... grab the bat and keep hitting the balls back with all you've got!! Lol!!

Before I give you the download link for today's gift, I want to say a big thank you to all of you, my friends, who leave comments on my posts, they are very much appreciated.

And finally.......the Lilly's Quilt Papers!! There are 12 in the set, 3 plain papers and 9 patterned with dots, checks and some cute stripes. The elements to match them will be my download on Tuesday..so drop back and collect them too.

If you want to download them you'll find them here.

Have a great day and see you Tuesday!!

Technorati Tags: lilly,news,background paper pack,free download,scrapbooking,graphic design

Inspiration

I am inspired!! So many things I have seen recently have been catalysts for the creative flow, not least this wonderful page by Kim over at Kim's Scrappin'.  She chose a wonderful Kit, and used a Miss Lilly photo. The results are breath taking....checkout the little bird on Lilly's shoulder. Thank you so much Kim for this beautiful page!!!!!

Now tell me...who wouldn't be inspired by this?

Credits: In the Forest by Carena's Design,

Word Art also in the kit (Kim just added the word Magic)

This post was going to be longer but I am sorry to say that Lilly has been in the wars and I need to get organised as I am almost certain to be making a trip to Oxford in the morning to see how things are going. I'm clearing the decks tonight of tomorrows scheduled work to free up some time.

Yesterday Lilly scalded her foot and I am glad to say that although it is nasty, it could have been worse. It meant another trip to hospital and a very large dressing on her little blistered foot. Her mum says that at the moment she is swinging between trying to hobble on it and wanting picked up. Her poor mum and dad were devastated that they had not seen it coming...but accidents happen even when we're careful. Kids are just so fast!!

So the rest of this post will have to wait until later this week....sorry!!

Have a great day tomorrow and see you soon.

Technorati Tags: layout,lilly news

Catch Up Time

Hi all...the prodigal returns!! I bet you thought I was on the missing persons list, it's been a week and no postings. Life has kept me jumping the last 7 days with never a dull moment. So first I'll fill you in a little on my week..and then a gift!!,

The Theme Park trip on Friday went well but I am still struggling to get the photos off my old camera..it's holding on to them and won't let me download them!! I need to have an other wrestling match with it tomorrow and see if it will finally relinquish it's hold.

It was Lilly's first time at a park like this and she loved the kiddie rides..too much so...she didn't want to get off. I was of course overprotective and made a wonderful sight on the children's rides in the backseat...Lilly naturally was driving, lol. My children thought it was hilarious...an 19month old in the front and grandma in the back. I have to admit it was a tight squeeze and it raised a few eyebrows...but I did it!! Mind you I don't think I need have bothered as the little lady in question was squealing with glee. It was definitely her kind of thing.

Lilly and her parents stayed until Monday evening, so the weekend was full to overflowing with events, but it was all great fun. On Saturday we went to the street market in Lymington and browsed. There were eight of us and we kept loosing each other, but eventually we reunited in time to eat. I love markets they have such a wide variety of goodies on sale and the atmosphere is brilliant.

I told you that I was putting together some bookcases with doors...well here they are. This was taken last Thursday before the company arrived. Tuesday I finished filling them with books and they look so much better, but I thought I'd let you have a peek. I still need to get the mirrors and pictures up in the rest of the room and find the accent touches, like changing the lamp shades, cushions, new curtains...need I go on? But it gives you an idea of what I've been up to. I'll post some more photos as it progresses.

 

 

The sun shone on Sunday and the lovely Lilly threw her clothes away and so we spent the day covering her in sun cream. Good job it was water proof for every time we put it on...she headed for the paddling pool!! Typical! But we all enjoy the day and the sun was beautiful, warmth...how I love it.

However, when Tuesday dawned, it was work as usual for me, time to pay the price and catchup on the backlog. But I can honestly say it was worth it. It's taken me three days of hard slog but I'm back to the point that by the weekend ....I'll be ready for the next round of chaos!!! Lol!

Now, my gift for you. I hope there is something for everyone, designers, scrappers, Photoshop lovers, whatever ....or that's my hope. It's just some simple folded or curled papers, but they can be used in so many different ways. Each piece is quite large, that way it expands the range of things you can use them for. They're large enough to use as mats in you work, or scaled down they can be used for embellishments...your choice.

If you design there's a grayscale pack to download...if not then there is a separate pack of coloured examples to add to your pages. Or grab them both!!! I hope you have fun playing with them and adding your own personal touches to make them your own.

You can download the grayscale pack here

You can download the sample papers here

Well, time for me to go. Take care and have a great evening/day!!

Technorati Tags: folded and curled papers,photoshop,scrapbooking,graphic design,free download,catch up

 

Nearly Done!!!

I'm nearly done my living room!! The paint and paper are finished and the cracks are sealed. I can't believe that the chaos is almost at an end. Living in a clutter is not my idea of fun at the best of ties...but this was awful, it just took so long with constant interruptions which were unfortunately unavoidable.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed when I had finished painting and stood back and took a long look. I had decided that I wanted to go for neutral in the decor so I could dress it up with accent colours that contracted with the dark blue of our sofas. But with I looked at it with very little furniture in and all that wall... it looked.....well.....nondescript!! Bland, washed out and plain. But it's moving on....the new carpet went in...yes, neutral again, but at least a bit darker....and it started to show some promise. Not a lot, but a little.

It went a stage further today, it was bookcase building day. I have so many books and so little space, so bookcases with doors were called for. I needed the doors because I hate how dusty books can get just sitting about on shelves. I have to admit with them in place it's starting to come together...but it still needs some colour!!!! But I do feel a little stirring of pride with how it's staring to look, perhaps all the hard work will be worth it in the long run. A few more days and it will be ready to show you all!!

For now though...it's going on hold...again!!! Lilly, Charlotte and Ali are arriving any minute and tomorrow we are all taking Lilly to Paulton's Park for the day. Chris, Cheryl and Kevin are coming too so it will be busy!! A real family day out, so please...no more rain!!!! It's been arranged for ages and not something I wanted to put off...so it's down tools again.

The latest news on my mum, is great. She's recovering well now from the flu and subsequent chest infection, but she is still not up to a day trip out. That's just too ambitious!! We'll all visit her on Saturday, or should I say invade her, lol.

I hope that next week I will get back to normal (what me normal!!) and settle down into my usual routine. The last few weeks have been too chaotic and disorganised for my liking, but they have had variety, lol.

Now my gift for you before I rush off.

If you like overlays then this one is one of my favourites. It's a torn paper one that is ideal for vintage or grunge papers. There are actually two overlays in the download, slightly different tones in each. They're quite large files but well worth a look. Have fun with them and layer, change blending modes, colour...anything that takes you fancy!! Just play and see what you come up with. I always find that the more I play the better the results....perhaps that's why I take so long making things...I play too much!!! Lol!

If you don't use overlays then there's some example papers that you can snag and use. The overlays are for personal or commercial use, the papers are personal use only.

Here's one of the overlays.

You can download the Overlays here

And here's the example papers.

You can download the Papers here

Have a wonderful day tomorrow and think of me at the theme park!! Hopefully if the rain stays off I'll have lots of pictures too. Till next time...be good!!

Technorati Tags: overlays,png files,example papers. free download,graphic design,scrapbooking,commercial use ok