Today’s blog prompt: What do you do when don’t feel very creative or feel like you’ve hit a creative block? Share a few tips that help you get back to yourself.

Fortunately this hasn't happened to me very often. I subscribe to both the Scrapagogo and Cleo Crafts kits and so at least twice a month I have something new to play with! Because I've paid for the stash I make sure that I use it!! It makes me try new things and scrap in new ways. The booklet which comes with the Gogo kit is also a great help.
If in doubt I go to the UKS gallery, hop around a few blogs or take a look at Scrapbook Inspirations and scraplift!

Rocking all over the world!

Today’s blog prompt: Who was your personal favourite teeny-bopper pin-up? Share a story about that dreamboat or another happy teenage memory with your readers.I was a big Status Quo fan in my youth! Francis Rossi was my favourite. I went to see them at Southampton's Gaumont when I was about 16. My friend had booked tickets separately to me. Her bulk booking for several people got her seats in Row U. My single ticket got me into Row C! I had a great time bopping in the aisles and I couldn't hear properly the next day!! Brilliant!! And yes, I had denim jeans and a denim waistcoat!! 

It's murder!

Today’s blog prompt: What’s your favourite reading material? Like the kind of favourite that you would take it to read if you had to cut off the rest of the world for years and years?

Oh, this is an easy one! I love murder mysteries. I have every Agatha Christie novel - I can never decide whether I'm a Poirot or Miss Marple girl. I read Ellis Peter's Cadfael books long before they came out on TV. Elizabeth George, Lindsey Davis, Candace Robb, Michael Jecks, Paul Doherty, Elizabeth Peters - I love them all. I don't mind where or when the stories are set. I like a detective who uses their brain and doesn't resort to to much violence! I always get it wrong and can never work out 'whodunnit'! I just find it amazing how everything fits together in the end. I really admire the way the author's mind works to pull it all together and even the tiniest clue has relevance. If I was cut off from the world I'd have time to re-read them to dissect the evidence!

Crafty heroes!

Today’s blog prompt: Tell your blog readers about someone who has been a creative influence in your life -- a crafty mum, aunt or grandparent, an influential school teacher or a friend who brought out your creative side, perhaps.

Thinking back there have been so many crafty people in my life.

• Mum, who knitted and sewed and went to pottery classes. She now does cross stitch and makes cards using her computer. She also created fab food when I was young!
  
• Dad, who made things in his shed - dolls houses and toy farms, model steam engines, a tall ship model - all sorts of things. He also went to painting classes at night school.
  
• My nan, who knitted us jumpers when we were little. I remember that they were generally itchy!
  
• A great aunt who gave me a tatting bobbin and book. I like trying new crafts.
  
• My best friend at school who was great at art.
  
• The Guiding training sessions I went to and learned about things to make with Brownies and Rainbows. I then became a trainer and used loads of books to get ideas.
  
• Simone, who ran the stained glass class I went to. She was so enthusiastic about her craft.
  
• My friend Charlol, who makes fab cards.
  

My crafty blog buddies and everyone on UKS.

All of these, and man more I'm sure, have influenced my crafting and I thank them all for steering me towards a fab time of crafting!

Art or Craft?

Todays blog prompt: What artistic technique do you love but not use often? What artistic technique intimidates you? Maybe you’ll find an expert in that technique reads your blog and can comment with tips for you!

I've never thought of myself as artistic. I can't draw things which look like the things they are supposed to be and I was useless at art at school. I have however always enjoyed crafts. I've knitted, tatted, made cards, glass painted, tried lace making, used mosaic tiles, made a bit of jewellery and of course scrapped.
Somehow I feel there is a difference between art and craft, although I can't explain it. I create stuff using other stuff, but I don't think of it as being artistic. I suppose that I associate 'art' with brushes, paints, charcoal etc and I don't use these.
So what artistic technique intimidates me? Well, I suppose anything using any of those 'artistic' tools. I look at some of the fantastic distressed,altered and vintage stuff that is out in Blogland and it just seems to be a whole different ball game to my scrapbook pages which involve cutting papers, playing with ribbons, buttons and sparkly things and gluing things on other things. It look so grown up and difficult.
Now maybe I need to go away and think about my 'art' and have more confidence in what I do as being art. But I'm beginning to ramble, so I'm off to take a look in a dictionary to see how 'art' and 'craft' are defined.
Oh my, Shimelle, you've really got me thinking about this one!!

Stay as young as you are!

Today’s blog prompt: If there was just one thing from your youth that you could pass on to today’s younger generation what would it be? Something as simple as the original Sesame Street theme song or something more complex, like growing up more slowly?

The prompt has really said it for me. When I look back at my time at the end of Primary School I was still a child. My advice to the children who left my class today would be to enjoy being children. Play silly games, have fun with friends, laugh, cry, don't worry about eating chocolate and sweets. love your parents and have a great time! The teacher in me also tells then to work hard and do their best, as their lives will depend on what they do in the next 5 or so years. Oh and be nice! As I was told as a child - if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all!

My first job

Today’s blog prompt: Write about your first job and ask your blog readers to share their first job stories too.

My first ever job as a teenager was at a local hotel. I got the job because my friend worked there. It was three and a half hours on a Saturday morning for the princely sum of 22p and hour!! Yes a whole 77p for my morning's work. I usually began with washing up breakfast things followed by getting the dining room ready for lunch! Next, if I was lucky, was polishing the corridor between the dining room and the bedrooms. I remember there were huge windows running down the side of the corridor, overlooking the garden. I would then finish up helping to make up the beds. It wasn't a job I really enjoyed but it was money!! I think I was only there about a year before I moved on to work in a jewellers - much more my style!!

So, as the prompt says - I'd love to read about your first jobs!

Lemmings

Today's blog prompt: Tell your blog readers about your favourite game.Snakes and ladders, Cluedo, Monopoly, Game of Life, Uno, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuits - I've played them all! However these days if I want to play a game I tend to turn to my computer! One main reason is that I live on my own so there's no one ese around to play with - aaaahhhhh!
Many years ago, when I got my Acorn computer, the first game I bought was Lemmings. It's a very silly game where you have to stop the Lemmings from destroying themselves in traps. It's a bit of problem solving with a bit of quick reaction time. You can only move on if you complete the level so at times it can also be a bit frustrating!! It's a great way to wile away a bit of time when I'm on my own and there's no-one around to play snap with!!

Today's blog prompt - Whatever you are sharing with your blog readers today, set yourself a word count target. Once you’ve written your post, count to see if you are over, under or spot on! You can even challenge them to comment with a set number of words, just for fun.

Ten words: Been busy - no time. Catch up next week!!

Straight!!

Today's blog prompt: The things that inspire us are often linked to what we label as quirks in our personalities: things we like that others seem to dismiss. What quirk could you share with your blog readers to see if they really dismiss this or if it’s something you have in common?

If you have read my other blog - dddeeebbbzzz does - you may know that I love straight lines - you may also recognise the Edward Monkton cartoon. In my crafting I do like crispy cut straight edges, straight ribbons, perfectly perpendicular photos and all things neat and orderly. 

However, thanks to fellow blogsters, whose work I admire, I'm gradually accepting that there may be another way! Sometimes my photos may be at angles, I may use papers with swirls on them and even cut around those swirls, I can even cope with ripping the edges of paper - just!!

In other areas of my life the love of straightness shows - I hate people who waffle, I don't like to travel via 'the pretty route', I don't like waiting. Having blogged here recently about both my dislike of airy fairy poetry and my impatient streak, these could both have their roots in my love of straightness.

Looking at the things which inspire me, I love Mondrain, Escher and Mackintosh, which all feature straight lines. I love the clean lines of modern decor - I have oak flooring, magnolia walls and relatively plain wooden furniture. My ideal garden would have a straight water feature running through it. Crisp cotton sheets arranged perfectly on the bed, straight sided glasses, books arranged in alphabetical order ... the list goes on!

So maybe I just have to face it - Everything must be straight or else the world will explode!

Accomplished!!

Today's blog prompt: Choose one point on each line to share with your blog readers - one thing you have accomplished and one thing you hope to accomplish. Bonus points if you have a photo from the event on the first line!

Today's class has involved creating time lines showing the things I have accomplished and the things we hope to accomplish. 

I've been very fortunate in my life that I have accomplished quite a lot. This has mainly been career based - but as my teaching career has been a vocation rather than a job, my teaching is a big part of me. I suppose one of the highest points was when I received a special award from the Mayor for my teaching and all the associated things such as the school website, ICT co-ordination and going 'the extra mile'. It was a very special day as my Mum and Dad came up especially, and we enjoyed the pomp of Kingston Guildhall, an prestigious award and a slap up lunch!!

Having raved on so much about my love of teaching, it may come as a surprise that something I would like to accomplish is my retirement. I would love to have more time and energy to enjoy life!! This end of the term is busy, busy, busy, but then so are many other times of the year and I'm beginning to get to the point where I'm often too tired to enjoy my social life. For example after the meeting tonight I've come home to sit and my friend has gone off to the pictures!! 

There again if you asked me at the beginning of term you might get a different answer!!

Blog-spiration!

Today’s blog prompt: Share a list of links with your blog readers, leading them to the websites that inspire you most.

Ooohhh this is a hard prompt today! I spend a lot of time on the internet - chatting with friends, looking up stuff like train times and what the weather will be like, shopping, selling on e-bay, learning, banking, blogging, forum-ing etc.

Most of the websites I visit are for normal everyday run of the mill stuff and probably are less inspiration than aspiration.

However, a few months ago I joined UKS and my crafting took off. I met new friends, learned new techniques, challenged myself and generally found out lots more about scrapbooking. I also discovered blogging! This has now become a passion - if not an obsession. I love sharing my pages, thoughts and ideas and have discovered that people like to visit my humble pages and also take the time to leave lovely comments.

I also enjoy blog hopping (or blopping!) and visiting the many and varied craft blogs which are created by 'ordinary' people (no offence, I just mean that they live normal lives with friends and families, they work, they shop, they sometimes have crisises in their lives - they are just like me!) who happen to be extraordinary crafters. Looking at their work makes me want to craft more and in different ways. I have learned new things and have built up blogging friendships. They are a community of friendly people who are always willing to lend a hand. I once mentioned book rings on my blog and received a message from someone who offered to send me some! (You know who you are!!)

I don't want to embarrass anyone be naming names, or upset anyone who I might leave out, so I invite you to hop across to my other blog 'dddeeebbbzzz does' and take a look at my blog roll. This is a list of crafty people whose blogs I visit as soon as they are updated and from whom I derive inspiration in it's many and varied forms.

Teaching!

Today’s blog prompt: Share an old photo of yourself and a current photo of yourself with your blog readers. Tell them a little something that has changed and a little that has stayed the same. This LO shows me as a child at school alongside me on my first day of final teaching practice. Teaching was always something I wanted to do. I used to make my sister play schools when we were little. I enjoyed my time at school and I hope my current class can say the same.Here I am after 29 years as a teacher in what is technically the same school. (We were an Infant school and we amalgamated with the Juniors next door.) 

So what has changed over all those years?

Children have certainly changed. When I think back to my childhood, living in the countryside, I knew far less of the real world than the children I teach today. There were no mobile phones and computers. In fact we didn't have a phone when I was very young. (Infact we didn't even have an inside loo!! We had a shed down the garden with a chemical toilet until I was about 12!!) Children have access to sources of information which i could never have imagined as I used my encyclopaedia to find out what i wanted to know. (I still have it)

The tools of my trade have changed. When I began teaching computers were very basic. We had one computer in the classroom which had a few basic games and I had to learn some basic programming to make any real sense of it. Now we have nearly 100 laptops on school and the children are nearly as proficient as I am by the age of 7!

My position in the school has changed. I began as a lowly NQT, became Maths co-ordinator ad then swapped to ICT. I became Keystage co-ordinator and with a brief spell as Acting Deputy many years ago I am now an Assistant Head. I now have the one thing that a newly qualified teacher hasn't got - experience. There are fast track routes to Headship, but no one can teach experience. I have seen things and dealt with situations over the years which give me insight into teaching today.

What has stayed the same?

The fact that I enjoy my job. I love being with the kids. Other teachers dread the thought of school journeys, but I love the chance to be able to spend time with the children in a more relaxed mode and having the time to chat and find out more about them. I do have moments when I think I might like a change, but they don't last for long. Being a teacher is one of the most rewarding thing I can imagine. Seeing children who can't do something and knowing that I can change that is a big thrill. Actually making that change happen is even more exciting.

Travel Time!

This is my second DLO in my 'My Freedom' album. I've stuck with the purple colour scheme and will keep roughly along the purple / lilac / pink lines through the whole album.

The journalling on the left answers the following questions:

Where were you born?
Where have lived?
What travel experience do you remember from your childhood?
What place in the world has left an impression on your soul?
Given no obligation, no cost, no need to act sensibly or be responsible for anything other than your own happiness, where would you travel right now?
Where is your next holiday destination?

I added the last question as it relates to the pictures. The three photos along the bottom are from my trip to Paris with a friend on 1999. The picture of the hotel is where we will be staying during our visit this year. The journalling bottom right is about taking big nephew when he was 10.

The star brads are from Poppicrafts. I decided to leave a bit of 'white space' as a contrast to the previous 'Time' LO. I could tell you that I chose the photos because the buildings / structures were of a similar shape - that would be a fib - I only just noticed that as I was proof reading this!!!

'I love it when a plan comes together!'

Time to ... recap

This week I have been taking Shimelle's 'My Freedom' class. The themes we have looked at so far have been 'Time' and 'Travel'. It's been quite exciting coming home to find an e-mail with the latest tasks! It's a bit like 'Mission Impossible', but the messages haven't self destructed after 10 seconds! There have been photos to take, questions to answer, things to think about, journalling to write, pages to scrap and even daily blog prompts! The only thing I really kept on track with have been the blog prompts. I even started a new blog just for the class!

I've thoroughly enjoyed the class so far, even though I'm already a little behind (I'm planning to catch up this weekend!)

Here is the double LO on the theme of 'Time'. I've never planned a double LO as one before - they're usually just two separate pages which happen to use the same papers and photos of the same event. I rather like it and will be using this technique again!!

(This post is the same as my other blog today. Double blogging is a bit mad so i thought I'd have a rest at the weekend!!)

Patience? What patience?

Today’s blog prompt: How do you prefer the pace of life? Do you wish things would speed up or slow down? Illustrate with something that has been on your mind or on your calendar or share your preference between working slowly or quickly on a crafting project.

I tend to go at things full tilt. I want it done and I want it done now!! I have no patience and hate to wait! I like fast food and hate to cook from scratch. I hate waiting in queues and will often decide that the thing I wanted to buy is not worth the wait. I don't like waiting for my old laptop to start up or for stuff to download from the net. 

After a little internet searching on the subject, I came up with this!

Spike and Shakespeare!

Today’s blog prompt: Have you ever been inspired by the words of a poem?
Share the poem with your blog readers and tell the words.

I'm not a poem person! I've never really seen the point and find all that flowery language too much! I'm not bothered by similie and metaphor - just give it to me straight, without any messing around!

The only poems I have had any affinity with have been the poems of Spike Milligan and Shakespeare!

As a youngster I remember having a couple of Spike Milligan's poem books. 

One of my favourites was 

There are holes in the sky where the rain falls in, but they're ever so small that's why rain is thin.

The other one I remember is along the lines of

I must go down to the sea again

To the salty sea and the sky

I left my vest and socks they're

I wonder if they're dry?

It was only when I Googled Spike's poems that I found this one which appealed - 

Hamlet

Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
'I'll do a sketch of thee,
What kind of pencil shall I use,
2B or not 2B?'

Quite appropriate really as my other choice of poem would be the Three Witches Spell from Macbeth. I love this from a teaching point of view, as it inspires the children to have a go at their own rhymes and to play with words! It also allows them to write about all the yucky things which kids love!

So, I hope you're not reading this at a meal time!

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

I went on holiday and I took....

I went on holiday and took my big black suitcase. In it I took 3 pairs of trousers (easy choice - I don't do skirts), three t-shirts (in case it is warm), three vest tops (in case it is very warm), three sweatshirts (in case it gets cool in the evenings), three hooded tops (in case of an unseasonal snowy spell), a raincoat (in case of rain obviously), a light weight coat (in case it gets a bit cool), a thick winter coat (that snow might be around still), flip flops (in case it's hot), crocs (in case I need something comfy), trainers (they go everywhere with me), walking boots (in case the urge strikes), wellie boots (in case of torrential rain), underwear (enough for every day and then some spares), two more t-shirts (in case the others get dirty), socks (different thicknesses to cope with sudden changes in temperature), sun hat (well, you never know!), sun glasses (got to look cool!), hair dryer & straighteners (need to look good in any photos)...... you can see where I'm going with this - well probably nowhere as my case is too heavy to lift!!!

As you can see, I pack for every eventuality and usually end up with half of it staying in the bottom of the case for the whole holiday.

I have now bought a small holdall and I am determined that next time I go away I am going to be an economical packer and leave all the extras at home! All I need are tickets and my passport and I'm off!

In search of Doctor Who!

Today’s blog prompt: If you could travel in time for just one day, where would you go and what would you do? You can always search in Flickr to find a picture to help illustrate your post. Flickr members encourage this with the ‘Blog this!’ link you’ll see above some photos.I love Science Fiction TV programmes and films. Star Wars, Star Trek (all of them!), Babylon 5, Andromeda, Quantum Leap - I've seen them all! Of course my favourite is Doctor Who - what will I do on Saturday nights now?

I love the idea of being able to travel in space and time. If I had to go back in time I'd like to visit Ancient civilisations - Greece, Rome, Egypt - how were the pyramids and fabulous temples built? I'd like to have a quick visit to Tudor Times to see what was so appealing about Henry VIII. Queen Victoria reigned at a time of so many great inventions - how fascinating to see the birth of so many things we take foregranted. But I know a bit about these already, I can look in books or on the Internet and find out about them. I know it's not the same but I have an idea what life was like.

My preference would be to travel into the future. How have our lives today influenced the world of the future. Are we really going to be able to teleport and have to eat pills instead of food? Will there be robots to cater for our every whim? Will the big questions of famine and poverty have answers in the future? Will anyone have any idea who I was? Has my life made any difference to the future? Unfortunately these are things I will never know, unless of course Doctor Who and his Tardis appear in my back garden - well he does need a new companion now!

Tick tock

Today’s blog prompt: We’ll start easy. Post a picture you take from your clock adventure as you look for all the time pieces in your house. Tell your blog readers about this project and you hope to make time for it.

Well,  how good a pupil am I? Two lovely pictures of clocks! But there is catch - the time has not been right to take these pictures today, so I've used some photos I took previously! I got home late and it's been raining and thundering and lightning for ages, so it is too dark for me to take photos!

Time is something I am fairly short of for the next two and a half weeks. I teach a Year 6 class, so we have lots of lovely leaving celebrations planned. We have a Red Carpet themed party and a final leavers service in church. The children are writing entries for their Year book, commemorating their time in year Six. All of these involve input from me, but with swimming galas, open days, various visitors to school and sports day we are rapidly running out of time! At the time when I should be enjoying the children's final weeks I begin to feel stressed and in a constant rush. 

So, how am I going to find time for this project? I'm not sure - I'm probably going to be playing catch up for a while at the weekends, but I really want to do this and I am not going to be beaten by lack of time!
This clock came from Argos years ago. I love it because it is so unusual! It's got angels at the bottom which revolve to show it is working. This clock was a gift from a pupil, and although not really my thing, I've come to love it as the colours go perfectly with my bedroom.

No more time to chat, I'm putting together a DVD of the children's time in Year 6!