Going digi...

A few weeks back docrafts launched a fab new digi-crafting tool called the docrafts Digi-Designer on Ideal World -  it's been a huge success so far! I'm very lucky to have been given access to all the discs created thus far and I'm championing the cause for some easy peasy digi-scrapping using the clever software. (It works much like photoshop, but without all the bits and pieces you never use!)

A couple of nights ago Becks and Sheila revealed the newest triple disc offering - the Papermania Christmas Past collection. I truly can't understate how much is on these discs!!! There are 10 full Christmas collections to choose from!



I spent a little bit of time having a play and am really loving the gorgeous non-Christmass papers that are included in many of the collections as well as the very-clever colourise tool that lets you change the colour of the papers etc to perfectly suit your pictures.

So here's my first page with the new discs... it features a picture of one of this years chicks (Katrina) who seems to spend her whole life trying to be bad!



Hope you like!

The nichest of niche posts...

If you're a keeper of poultry AND a fan of mythology based fantasy tv or films you'll so get this....

So I'm out in the garden this morning sprinkling some bio-dri around the perimeter of the duck pond and water bowl and suddenly it occurs to me I'm one of the Winchesters.

Erm..... so if you're neither of the above you'll be forgiven for being a little confused and forgiven for thinking I've TOTALLY lost the plot. (And it's a fair assumption!)

So.... Bio-dri is a very clever powder disinfectant that both dries (hence the name) and sanitises. It also smells divine but I have definitely NEVER sniffed it while applying it. Honest. It's used to sprinkle around anywhere there might be a bit of moisture to keep the ducky/chook area nice and fresh and clean so the duck pond is the perfect place to sprinkle a nice ring of powder. (if by some amazing coincidence you ARE a chicken/duck keeper and want some of this lovely smelling (erm.... effective!) powder, I get mine from Flyte So Fancy...)

And all this takes us onto the Winchesters... (the irony that they too are hanging out by a pond isn't lost on me!)



The Winchesters (Sam and Dean from left to right... which is a bit like how Ant is always on the left of Dec so you can remember which of them is which) are travelling demon/vampire/werewolf battling brothers from the TV show Supernatural. One of the things they seem to do at least every other episode is try and keep indeterminate demons from entering a specific area (y'know... like a house). So the method of choice for this (apart from scrawling giant, intimidating pentagrams on the ceiling and floor) is to sprinkle a generous and unbroken perimeter of salt.

And so this morning while I was sprinkling a nice ring of white gritty powder in a circle around the duck pond it suddenly that I was JUST LIKE an american demon hunting traveller. But a girl. And without the 90s rock music. Or the car.



I guess we should all be reassured that there is absolutely no chance of any demon entering the ducks pond. Daphne is certainly relieved...

Talking TV

So a couple of weeks ago Emma Collins and I had a mini road trip up to the studios of Creativity TV to film our premiere episodes presenting Creativity TV. The first episode goes live on Monday (exclusively for members of the Creativity Club) but in the meantime I'm allowed to share our teaser trailer of the new season of episodes!

Hope you like!

The Birthday Girl

It was a tough choice as to which of the Honeybrook Farm photo-shoot pics to scrapbook first (it's lovely to have some new models to pose for me!) but little cutie Myla won the day, and not just because she's just had a very special birthday! It doesn't hurt that she's such a photogenic little person!

I created this page for the docrafts scrapbooking project of the week, and like all the best pages it's fun to create (with a nice bit of paint slappage) as well as pretty speedy to create!

There will almost certainly be more layouts to come featuring Mrs Collins' lovely girls - who could resist?

Down on the Farm!

I'm on holiday this week (I think quite well deserved even if I do say so myself!) and among the blissfully relaxing walks with the furry girls and some quality time with the feathery girls and boys, I've ticked off a few holiday must haves. paddling on the beach, being a tourist on my own doorstep in the New Forest and the inevitable catching up on a few little jobs (the fish tank has never looked so sparkly!).

I'm lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world and that means half the world seems to come on holiday here, so the only chance to visit the touristy places (you know... the ones just round the corner that you never get round to visiting!) is a cheeky mid-week off season day! Last time I went to Marwell but this time around the animals were a little less exotic!

So yesterday I joined Erica Martyn and Emma Collins and their respective kiddies for a fun afternoon at Honeybrook Farm near Wimborne.

Of course there were the usual suspects....

Ducks...





Chickens...



Pigs...





etc...



But among the not so wild animals were some other cute little people, namely Harry, Nevie and Myla!



























It was wonderful to be able to take a few photographs of such wonderful models! - Hope you like!

Zoo Time

Life is busy. Like super-super busy. And it didn’t even really help having a week off work last week! Although I did manage a little trip to the zoo. I’ve not been to Marwell in an age and it’s still as great as I remember. Of course I took some camera gear and took 1 or 2 pics.

Most of these were with my Canon 7D and Sigma 150-500mm. You really appreciate the extra reach at Marwell. It’s essential with most of the animals living in lovely BIG enclosures. To see them all visit my Flickrstream, but here are a couple to whet your appetite.

While events have conspired against me to do much scrapping at home recently, I have been creating for my day-job. While I can't share any sneaks of projects for the July issue of Creativity, I can point you towards some bits and pieces on the website. 

First up are some pages using the new May releases. The first features some of my favourite things! The pics are of some Mandarin ducks that live wild at one of my favourite places in the New Forest and they are merrily nestling in acres of PM Kraft cardstock. I seriously can't tell you how much I love this stuff. I'm not sure how I survived before it!

 Next is a page with Mistress Martha and using the Me To You - Especially For You collection. Tatty Teddy is so adorable and for pages about kiddies (or my bear cub) it's just the right about of cute!

Lastly for today is a page explaining another thing that's been keeping me busy!

4 cute little ducklings hatched the week before Easter and they are already nearly as big as their parents! If you are a member of the Creativity Club you'll also have already seen my newest chicks featuring on a page. I can't share that here (It's exclusive don't you know!) but when I get a spare min, I'll share some more pics!

Design 101 for Newfie Owners.

I’ve just been reminded (yet again) that Newfie’s aren’t normal dogs. Now, you might think that’s an obvious statement but it’s only when people indicate something is dog friendly that it becomes glaringly obvious that these big hairy beasts are nothing but ‘regular’.

I’m always on the look out for ‘dog friendly’ (see, there’s that phrase again) ideas for the home so when my FAVOURITE blog of all – Design Sponge tweeted a link to a ‘dog friendly’ home I couldn’t resist nipping over for a peek. The article is here in all its glory BTW.
So herein lies a couple of differences…

1. Easy clean tile/wood floors. Sounds like a great idea in principle, but this is a recipe for disaster for giant dogs with hairy paws. I’ve experienced a dog with Cruciate tears and don’t care to experience another thankyou!

2. Teeny weeny, wobbly glass bottles with leaves painstakingly arranged on a chest of drawers. Looks great but Newfies are TALL and their flappy tails reach even higher… I’m pretty sure these would last 30 seconds in my house.

3. White fabric sofas/fabric covers on dining chairs/white bed linen might look gorgeous but with dogs that resemble woolly mammoths plus gallons of dribble these would be grimy and grey in about 5 seconds flat.

4. Vintage skittles artfully arranged next to a fireplace - I predict these would be standing up for 30 seconds and outside as a new exciting chew toy in 30 mins.

5. Floor length white curtains - See point 3!

6. The Coffee Table. I don’t know anyone with a Newfie that owns a coffee table. First off it’s the perfect height for dribbling, ANYTHING on it would be flung aside with a huge head or flapping tail in seconds plus putting a cup/glass anywhere near a Newf is asking for trouble. A big hairy snout and giant tongue would be inside faster than you could ever imagine a Newf could move. Plus Newfs like to play rough. Leaping about and wrestling is an activity best saved for the middle of the living room (and ideally just when your family is sitting down to watch Glee. (I’m not bitter.) So the space is left empty.

7. Candles. No. Big hairy, wafting tail + naked flames = the towering inferno.

8. Sheepskin throws/cow hide rugs. I can’t be sure, never having owned one of these, but I’m pretty sure slobber and sheepskin isn’t a nice mix. I think the cow hide might just get eaten.

But apart from that.... it looks perfectly ‘dog’ if not Newf ‘friendly’. :)