Scraproom Clipboard

As one of my Zutter's projects this month I had a go with the clipboard packs. I have to admit when I first got them out of the packaging I thought... no ways is my BIA going to go through this thickness! No probs though... it made pretty light work of it. I decided that two of them side by side would be on the large side so with my knife and metal ruler I cut one of the baords in half and then with my Crop-a-dile I punched holes to criss cross the ribbon to keep them together.

I made a BAI notebook so that I can scribble ideas or deadlines down when I think f them. I added some blue wooden beads to the 3/4" antique brass o'wire for decoration.

I altered a large peg to clip things I am using whilst working at the desk.

When I was in the little tat shop the other day I found these twin baskets and had one of those light bulb moments - perfect to hang off the bottom of the clipboard and take all the tools that I use all the time... just had to disguise that white plastic ugliness first!

I love it, it keeps stuff off my desk and I have something pretty to look at as a bonus. The papers are from the BasicGrey Boxer collection.

Been playing with the trunks...

So I thought if I was going to play with the new smaller chest I may as well have a go at the three stacking ones I bought in Jubail a few months back!!

Not looking too bad... though I think I will play some more.



I used the big earring gem stones for the centres of the flowers.

And some of the naff little flowers I got in the supermarket, which actually look pretty good now!

Another bargain...

We went to Panda to do our supermarket shopping last night (I know.. its a really daft name for a supermarket and has nothing to do with panda's in the logo) and on the way to the check-out I found these really naff flower wreaths reduced to 1Riyall each... 1 Riyall = 16p so I bought a couple of them to the obvious dismay of Chris who wondering what the heck I was doing...

So this is what is left when I removed all the flowers!! I can see why they were cheap as that fir type stuff shed everywhere and would have been a nightmare if you had actually displayed them!

But this is what I ended up with!! Aren't they pretty? Perfect colours for the trunk!!

So for the grand outlay of 32p or 2 Riyalls I ended up with this lovely bag of flowers!

Final piece and Completed Jigsaw

This piece is Puddlepant's and her theme is 'birds in muted browns yellows, nothing cutesy or Disney' - it is less green in real life, so hope it will do... and now its finished!! :)

This is the completed jigsaw, and out of 9 pieces 6 have a mini book on them!! Now just need to wrap it all up carefully and post it off for a journey half way round the world.

And me? I get to go and play with my trunk!!

Jigsaw Piece

This is T-Ann's jigsaw piece and her theme was 'opulent rich regal in purples reds' and she wanted a mini book on it!! OK.... so how the heck do you get a subject for a mini book from 'opulent, rich and regal' ? So I sort of figured that princesses could be deemed 'opulent, rich and regal' and decided to do a fairy tale....

So that's another jiggy piece done and only one left to do!! Yahooooo!

A few people have asked how big these are.... so here is the book with my thumb...

Jigsaw Pieces

Two more pieces of the jigsaw swap completed! These were surprisingly quick... possibly because they didn't require a mini book on either piece! ;)

This is Dancing Frog's piece, her theme was woodland so I am opting for a springy woody feel!

This piece is my own and the theme is lizards. OK, I have a 'thing' about lizards and if anyone has ever received a piece of my work in the form of an ATC or mini book... somewhere on the back they will find a tiny little lizard as my signature. So, just two more pieces of the jigsaw to complete in the next couple of days and it can go in the post. The UK swappees have till the end of the month to complete but i have had to account for a couple of weeks in the mail. I must admit I am really looking forward to getting mine back as the pieces I have seen are really beautiful!

Jigsaw Puzzle Piece

OK... first of all... I did some asking around this morning and it seems that the cat above was indeed a lovely black Persian a couple of days of go....

He is Tar and he belongs to Lorianne - the hairdresser!! LOL Just in case anyone is thinking that its awful to do this... Tar lays waiting for his summer haircut and loves his new look!! I did ask her if she could fit me in for a quick trim yesterday but after seeing the cat.... (just kidding Lorianne)!!

This jiggie piece is Wisher's and her chosen theme was waterfalls and she wanted a mini book on her piece.

So what do you put in a mini book with the subject of waterfalls? Yep, waterfalls.

I made a countdown list of the world's top 10 natural waterfalls.... and so far I have managed to see one of the top ten!! Victoria Falls in Zambia.
This jiggie piece is Leigh's and her theme was Egypt and I have had all sorts of problems with it... in the end I decided to scrap version one and try again... still not very happy so may have to tweak it a little before it goes in the post!

The mini book (yes, Leigh wanted a mini book on her piece)!! contains ink drawings on papyrus paper which I bought in Egypt when we were on holiday... I knew what Leigh's theme was before we went so searched out the tiniest artwork so tha tit would fit on a tiny page!

I got one!!

The shop still had one of the trunks left so I picked it up for me! I will have a play and dolly it up just as soon as I finish the jigsaw pieces that need to go off in the post in a few days to meet the swap deadline. Just 4 pieces to go as I finished two of them this afternoon and will photograph them in the morning.

OK... I think this was lovely black persian cat last week... but someone has given it a haircut - a bad haircut.... a very bad haircut!! Poor thing looks a bit like a poodle now! I guess all that fur in 40 degree temps is a bit of a liability but.... shame, its completely ruined its street cred!!


Now don't laugh... the poor thing will never come out of the house again!! LOL

When we were shopping last week Chris picked this can of drink up... who the heck gave it that name? YUK! I was putting it away and said to Chris 'what idiot would buy a drink with a name like that.... oh yes, you did'!! I think I will need to be very thirsty indeed to open this one...

Off to the Scrap Shop today!

My neighbour, Lorianne, and I are off on the ladies bus to Khobar today to visit Zamil's the scrap shop!! Wooo hooo! It isn't really a scrap shop, more a craft shop but it does have some scrap stuff in it. I'm going to be investigating the ribbons and beads and bits and pieces and see what falls into my basket!!

I've been baking, these are bran muffins made from.... All Bran!! LOL I couldn't find bran flour in the supermarket so bought a packet of All Bran cereal and used that instead... they turned out really nice, added some raisins and brown sugar and they are pretty good!

Another banana loaf - I think Chris is deliberately leaving the bananas to go brown so that I have to bake this to stop them going to waste... and I jazzed this version up by making a streudal type topping on it which is delicious!

Recipe for those that want to try it...

115g margarine, softened

200 g sugar (I did half brown half white)

2 eggs

340 g mashed banana

250 g self raising flour

Preheat oven to 175C

Grease and flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan

Cream marg and sugar until smooth, beat in the eggs, then add the mashed bananas. Add the flour and stir till its all combined.

Pour into your prepared pan and bake at 175C for about an hour (test with toothpick).

Remove from pan and let it cool, can be stored in fridge or freezer.

Nb. The riper the bananas the better and I add some cinnamona nd ground nutmeg and a dash of vanilla essence to the mix which gives it a wonderful flavour.

If you want to do the topping you need to mix 15grams of butter, 75 grams of brown sugar, 15 grams of all purpose flour and half a teaspoon of cinnamon in a bowl... you need to rub between your fingers till its a crumbly consistency and then spoon it over the top of the banana bread mix before baking it... it gives a lovely crunchy sweet topping!!

Should've kept the trunk...

OK, I really should listen to you guys... and kept my lovely trunk!! I ended up with a set of 6 wine glasses... which considering I am in a 'dry' country where alcohol is banned and add the fact that neither Chris or I drink... was not such a good deal! :( Never mind... the shop did have another one so maybe I will pop into town this week and pick it up for me)! LOL

But on the bright side... if I go back to the tat shop I can fill my basket with more of these goodies!! You see the gem bling thingies? They are earrings, 6 pairs on each card and the cost? 30 pence for the 6 pairs!! Yahoooooo... they look absolutely fab at the centre of a flower and cost silly money... the ribbons? 15p a strip and they are stunning! The beaded edging stuff? The man sold me that entire bundle for £1.50....

I used one of the earrings on this... just a sneak peek!!

I just love a bargain...

I found the equivalent of the 99p shop in Jubail!! Ooooh, its fab and I got loads of lovely tat for hardly any dosh...

I found these, aren't they brilliant? They are for carrying your mobile phone and have a little zip compartment for your money too. They cost silly money but anyone recognise the logo? Think French designer of the little black dress and perfume with a number 5 in the name....
Do I look like I care its a fake? LOL

This is a notebook I made for my hairdresser neighbour... it has a matching large peg for keeping her notes in order but I forgot to photograph and its now residing on her fridge...

Chris and I ventured off to Khobar yesterday to the big supermarket to fill our new chest freezer with decent meat and I had to stop and photograph this road name sign.... they obviously go for the concise, easily memorable name theory here....
And its Mother's Day here tomorrow - everyone seems to celebrate the US date and there is a lunch for the compound ladies and we each have to bring a gift valued at about £10. They then do this weird thing where someone picks a wrapped gift, opens it and decides whether they want to keep it... the next person can choose a new unwrapped gift or 'steal' the previous persons... yeah, its sounds confusing but I guess I will figure it out as we go along!! Anyways, I hadn't a clue what to get until I spotted this wooden trunk and then dollied it up a bit to make it look acceptable (I hope) so that's what I am going to wrap up and take with me!! I'll let you know what I end up with... The big tag has a poem by Marion Baker on it:

Precious Memories

I have a box of treasure
Belonging just to me
Containing priceless souvenirs
And full of history

I have a box of memories
I only have the key
To unlock the many secrets
And reveal the mystery

I have a box that’s precious
In so many different ways
Crammed full of recollections
Of countless lovely days

This box cannot be stolen
Nor damaged by mankind
My precious treasured memories
Are here within my mind

Recipe Book

I figured that if I actually found recipe that turned out pretty good and I didn't want to lose them in the 'junk' drawer in the kitchen (please tell me I am not alone in having one of these drawers that everything appears to end up in) that a recipe book might be a good idea!!

So my trusty BIA to the rescue I have made this version, which is great as it has pockets for pages so I can just stuff a card with recipe inside the pockets and not lose them!

I fell in love with this DCWV stack called 'Sweet' - perfect for the theme! :)
Little pull out tabs that I can jot recipes down on or stick cut outs from magazines onto.