Creating my Mr. Darcy Layout

Hi All my PC is acting up so wont be able to make any videos for a little bit.

Just wanted to share a layout I made last night.

 Paper is by October Afternoon - Farm House collection

 I used alot of random old embellishments and Wild Orchid flowers. I made the 2 hat pins and the Key and locket were dies which a friend sent me in a RAK a while ago. I have no idea where the Cameo came from I round it in my Grandma's jewelry box when she passed away - not sure if it fell off a broach or something.

The Image of the man and woman is from a vintage decoupage picture by Search Press but I only used the base image and coloured her dress in egg shell blue and when dry covered the full image in Tim Holtz old paper.

The Pride and Prejudice book is a sticker from October Afternoon - Farm House collection

I also used some old ancient lace and pearl bead trim.

The journalling reads if you are interested:

I love books and reading is one of my favorite past times. It started when I was little and then died out until I was about 16. We were in Florida my dad had gone out to a car show with my brother. Me and Mam were chilling out in the villa, I am a nosey person by nature and love rummaging in cupboards even if they are not mine. I found a book called Daughters of the Moon by Susan Sallis and fell in love with this author and her writing I could not put the book down for the rest of the holiday. I am ashamed to say it but I wasn't finished the book before we were due to fly home so I took it! I know thief right but its the only thing I've took which wasn't mine and it was the best thing I'd ever done as it sparked my reading frenzy off again. I had to have and read everyone of Susan Sallis' books and this was the only author I could read until ...My Mam's friend borrowed her a book to read called Orphan Child by Catherine King and I was then converted to another amazing author. Me and Mam went on a novel reading frenzy then she deserted me when she got a Kindle! I love books and I can happily spend hours in a library. I love how quiet and calm it is, and the smell and feel of books. I refuse to convert! I tried to try my hand at writing when I was about 18 but I didn't get past a page of writing I don't think I had enough life experiences and the era and city I was trying to write about I knew nothing about it! So that was binned. I have since started to write my own novel again now I am older and a few more experiences under my belt and knowledge that I cant just write about somewhere/something I don't know about without researching first. I wanted to write about something I know ... being Sunderland my hometown, something I love ... the era of 1900 and where I am the main character and I create my own Mr. Darcy! Really my life has not been that eventful so my story is going to have alot of exaggeration and fiction to it, my Mam didn't call me Jackanory when I was little for nothing.

Thanks so much to taking the time to view and comments are much appreciated
Sam xxx

Start and don't finish

One of my really bad habits is starting something and not finishing! I think I get this from my dad hehe don't tell him. My mam calls him "Half Job Harry" Even though he is called Steve and she is referring to D.I.Y jobs all over my parents house which have been like that for years. Come to think of it its same in mine - Opps!

Well I was referring to my December daily, I got so far as day 4 then stopped. I don't know if it was a mixture of being at work and not doing anything so exciting to write about or the fact this year to me it didn't really feel like Christmas - got all the presents, tree was up, but I am really counting down the days to my holiday in Feb.

Didn't have a holiday last year (2011) so I am definitely ready for one now!! 

I haven't been crafting at all lately I think I made one page in-between Christmas and New Year but that was about it. I've lost my mojo and I keep seeing photos or something which makes me think all I do this and that with  it and never do!

Another reason which I haven't been in craft mode is I have started reading loads of books lately and cant put them down. Reading big novels in 4 days which I think is a record for me. A friend of my mam got me thinking a few weeks back when we were talking about books and Kindles (I want the new Kindle Fire!) she said why don't you write your own novel. Which got me thinking and boom I've started it!! I have all my characters down on paper, the full plot, I've wrote my Prologue and started Chapter One. I have quite a few favourite authors but some of the ones I have been reading are set in Sunderland and these books are all set in 1800-1900 Catherine Cookson style (which I love).As I live in Sunderland, seeing street names in the book was dead exciting for me so my book will also be set in Sunderland. I've been to the Library and got some books out and I am currently researching as I write which you can imagine is going slowly as its me :-P

Only issue I am having is the speech as I want it to be local dialect. I know I am a Mackem and know most of the slang but I don't know if this is the same as in 1900. A bit more research needed I think! I also need to set myself a target of how many pages I will write a week. My writing sits dormant for days on end even though I have millions ideas in my head I write them down as soon as I can but with work I am so tired when I get in. 

Books Read July - Dec 2011

*** On a side note we are trying to buy a new house and still looking into adopt Darcy and Gypsy who my mam are currently fostering.

Hope everyone is well. 

Love Sam