Project Life update: January

Loads happened in January so I have a lot of pages to reflect it. My renewed love of 12x12 layouts mean this album is kinda chunky already. Oh well! I try to simplify all the time but I guess it isn't very me.
January is split into two: my trip to Berlin, which I'm still completing; and the rest of the month, which I'll share now. You're already seen my new year layouts so straight into 'back to work' mode...

Reading more; going to the lights installation at Holburne Museum, Bath with Holly and Lou; promotion on Mollie Makes; press trip to Top Drawer.

Watching my cousin play his first televised match for Falkirk on BBC1 Scotland; my favourite memories in tweets for January; another press trip to Bubble; my dad's birthday; a Thank You card from my nephew (oh, OK, his mum and dad); and Illuminate Bath.

It was a great month for post. My Nani sent me this cute card and a newspaper clipping from a flower show I went to with my sister when I was 9. 

I spent a bit of time in my hometown.

Now - the next layout needs some explaining. My boyfriend and I started a very silly competition to come up with the most embarrassing/hilarious pet names for each other. I collected them all, obviously. Great fodder for a layout, no? (Sorry to have blurred them out, but you know, I want to retain just a little dignity here!).

Hehe. I giggled as I made this.

Stitch and Craft 2012

I have to say, straight up: craft shows are hard work. If you're not smiling and standing up for hours saying the same things over and over again ("No, I'm not Mollie, I'm Lara. Hi!"), you're getting in a fluster packing things up and hoping nothing's going to break or get lost on the way back to the office. It is for this reason that I prefer to wander around craft fairs instead, but don't we all? And I shouldn't complain, as I'm a very lucky girl. But, I'm at my best sitting at a computer putting a magazine together. Or hiding behind a camera.

And I did get a few minutes to run around snapping away. Here are the coolest things I saw at Olympia on Saturday and Sunday:

 The famed Mollie Makes yurt, by Linzi Upton.

Mum's day

My mum. She's so lovely. I took another old commission from Papercraft inspirations magazine for her Mother's Day card today. It was a Valentine's card originally.

I like adapting things. Happy Mother's Day mum. And to this lovely lady, who's celebrating her first Mother's Day with my cutie of a nephew.

Tomorrow, I'll be here...

[Photos by Linzi Upton]

...In the Mollie Makes yurt at the Stitch and Craft Show, Olympia, London. This pretty piece of patchwork was made by Linzi Upton. Can't wait to see it in the flesh - I've heard a lot of buzz about it on Twitter! I'll be there Saturday and Sunday with lots of crafty authors, so do come and say hello if you're in the neighbourhood. It's an early start for me, so na-night.

Mollie Makes Easter Issue Blog Hop

Hoppity Hop hello! Just like the Christmas issue where we realised we'd gone overboard with deer, the Easter issue of Mollie Makes is all about those wascally wabbits. So obvs, we had to mark the occasion with a blog hop.

If you've landed here from somewhere other than Jenny Dixon's Button Jar, start over at the Mollie Makes blog here. You can win a super-dooper prize if you go through all the posts in the hop and count the rabbits. One Alice-in-Wonderlandy rabbit fascinator courtesy of From the Wilde could be yours!

Umming and ahhing over what to share with you today, I knew it had to be bunny themed, but I also wanted to show you some scrapbooking - my first crafty love. Some of you may be new to it or think of it as old-fashioned and amateurish. Not so. It's a kind of collage art mixed with journalling. Personally, it's the prettiest way for me to keep photo albums and memories.

You get the funniest pictures and stories at hen dos, wouldn't you agree? Now count those rabbits peeps, tally up what you have from the other ladies and hop on back to Mollie's competition. Good luck!

BTW, a good place to start with modern scrapbooking if you like the look of this is Studio Calico's Design Team gallery and Effer Dares.

Balance in photos and actions

February was about collecting instances of my word, Balance. I found it everywhere - in my photo archives (me in the denim dress trying not to fall over on a sand dune), in magazines (Psychologies, bottom right), in art (Adam Pretty's image of divers in China), postcards (UPPERCASE's gorgeous Work/Life 2 promo), cereal packets and bills.

Now to put the word into action. Mine was simple - I started a beginner's T'ai Chi class this week. So far, so good! It's already struck me, the discipline you need to keep being balanced - within the movements of the 'form' as they call it, and life in general. This isn't just something I can fix once, I know I need to keep working at it. I can already see that practising the physicality and the mental state of balance in this way is going to be really good for me.

Satisfied

 
In my quest for balance this year, it struck me that I often swing from one extreme mood to another. I never used to do this. I was contented, like a cat sitting in a sunny spot. I'd found a place I liked to be and was happy with my lot. I think this is the dream isn't it? Not flashy necessarily, but good.

But life is always in flux. Nothing stays the same and you really can't stand still if you want to live to the full. When you feel change biting at your ankles, it's easy to be thrown off course. For the past two years I've been renegotiating the route I want to take and what truly makes me happy. And I realised I haven't really shared any of that here.

So: here it is. I went through a separation and am now getting divorced. I lived out of a suitcase with good friends. I found a place to live, with strangers. I made new friends. I threw myself into work. I got promoted. I started a wonderful new relationship. I laughed a lot. I cried an awful lot. I lost a lot of money. My skin dried up and my face went numb (oh, hello migraines!). I couldn't make time for important things. And suddenly, I realised I couldn't sustain that level of stress. I simply had to let things go.

Tonight I got home from work, had a quick chat with my housemate, planned my solo dinner and poured a drink. And I smiled because I'm satisfied. My life is far from perfect but I'm really bloody thankful that I'm starting to feel that balance return - and that it's me controlling it. I'm planning on working on my One Little Word album tonight. It really has been amazing to see the word 'balance' impacting my day-to-day the way it has. We're only in March, and I'm so excited to see what I can do with it by December. I'm sure there'll be a couple of tightropes to walk between now and then...

I'll share my balance photos for February and March's One Little Action tomorrow.

Don't you feel you know me a wee bit better now?

Reddish Manor

So you've seen my hen do pics from the weekend and you may have caught a glimpse or two of the rather grand-looking location. We stayed at Reddish Manor, near Henley, and it was so impressively quirky, I knew I'd have to give you a photo tour.

 

The owners are avid collectors of all sorts of taxidermy (including a lion under the grand piano?!), tacky Royal memorabilia (in his own words!), antiques, OXO packaging and matchboxes amongst other curiosities. Completely intriguing. I love places like this.

Lara's guide to surviving a hen do when you're ill

1. Pack lots of medicine, including a ton of tissues (to blow your nose, or to make wedding dresses out of, below). Warm jumpers and cardis are a must. Do not forget your slippers.

2. Don't be scared to quietly slip off for a nap or a wander with your camera if you're exhausted.

3. Don't shy away from one or two cocktails. They may give your drugs a little boost ;)

4. Immerse yourself in the fun and games. It'll take your mind off feeling crappy.

5. Make yourself chief observer with the camera. You get out of doing things this way if you're not inclined as you're 'busy documenting the weekend'.

 
6. Choose something spicy from the menu. And have it cooked by a celeb chef if poss, such as Antony Worrall Thompson, below.

6. Lastly, remember it's not about you. Put a smile on and join in even if you're sneezing yourself silly/coughing your lungs out.

I had a fab time at Jade's party despite my red nose. I am now on day 6 of this icky bug. Really hope I haven't given it to everyone just in time for the wedding.

Printables: The 'You Don't Need That' series

God knows I need help not to spend. So I came up with this idea and you're free to play along. Simply save the most relevant image to you, below, print it off at 100%, trim down and place in front of your bank card in your wallet or purse. Hopefully, these will help us all think twice when we get to the checkout.

All images and designs my own, please link with love and refer back to me if you like this idea. Ta!