Thursday 22 September 2011

More shows on Create and Craft!

Hi there everyone,

Just a really quick post to let you know I've just had some shows confirmed by the bods at Create and Craft, I'm flying by my pant tails at the moment, so please forgive me! The shows are:

Tuesday 27th September at 2-4pm and 7pm;
Monday 3rd October at 9am, 2pm, and 6pm

There are some really gorgeous goodies on both shows so I hope you can join me!

Thursday 8 September 2011

Holiday on the Aurora - Instalment One - the ship

Hi Everyone,

Well I thought it was about time that I told you a little more about my holiday. It seems like forever ago now (why is that?) but I'm left with happy memories. I have sooo many photographs to show you, and they seem to be taking forever to edit! I thought that first of all I would show you our ship - the Aurora.


I took the above photograph when we were on an excursion around 'The Rock of Gibraltar', as it was a fantastic vantage point. When you're on the ship you forget how big it actually is, and it's only when you disembark that you realise how massive it really is. The Aurora isn't even the largest ship in the P&O fleet, at the moment they would be the Ventura and Azura (we went on the Ventura three years ago, and it's huge!) The Aurora will hold nearly 2,000 passengers and about 1,200 crew. That's quite a lot! To get an idea on the size of the ship you can see the size of the life boats and windows from the above picture in relation to Joseph and I stood on the dockside!


This is the Riviera pool, one of the adult only pools on the ship. The other pools all welcome children, and there is a pool which is aimed towards children, as well as a infant pool too. This is on the back of the ship and is known as the terrace pool {for obvious reasons!} I loved this area, reading my book on the sun lounger drinking the cocktail {or mocktail if too early!} of the day, having a little dip in the pool when it got too hot. Ahhh, bliss!




Here's another photograph of the terrace pool, taken early one morning when no one was around. Every evening the crew remove all the sun loungers and the decks are washed., then in the morning the loungers are put out again neatly. It's those little attentions to detail that make a holiday special.

I have a thing about order and neatness {you would never tell by looking at my craft room} and lines of steamers don't escape my camera lens! By changing the photograph to sepia, these chairs look as though they could be from the Titanic! OO-er! These were some of the most relaxing chairs available on the cruise and many a time I plonked on one hoping to read my book, awaking an hour later hoping I hadn't been snoring!



Now for some from the interior of the ship, this fantastic stained glass design is in the coffee lounge area. Yes, they have a Costa Coffee on the ship, complete with comfy sofas and such comfy chairs that reminded me of that one from the Cadbury's advert! On the colder of the sail days this was a great place to relax rather than out on the sun loungers! There is also a library where you can complete jigsaws and take out books.


And this is the fantastic sight that meets you in the Atrium as you board the ship. It is four floors tall, and there is a waterfall that falls behind it, the sound is so relaxing!



I know I've shown you the terrace pool already but I just love this photograph of the wake produced by the ship. Did you know, each ship's wake is completely different, no other ship will have a wake like the Aurora. Aren't you glad I imparted that piece of information!

This is our cabin, taken just after our Cabin Steward Karl had prepared it for the evening. Karl was absolutely fantastic, every morning our cabin was prepared to the highest standards, and in the evening, Joseph's bed was pulled down, our curtains closed and lights on, with a chocolate on our pillows. The beds and bedding were to die for...so comfy! Usually Karl would make Joseph smile by doing something funny with his toys, and as you can see it was the turn of the Gibraltar Monkey! When we said goodbye, Joseph had saved all his bedtime choccys for Karl! Bless! The cabins are more than big enough, especially when you are hardly in there!



Here's a couple of pictures of Joseph and I taken in the cabin towards the end of the cruise. I think these were taken on a formal night, hence Joseph in his waistcoat. He couldn't wait to wear his waistcoat and suit. I was so very proud of him!

And here is Joseph with Mathi {left} and Savio {right}, our waiters at dinner every night. Did you know the waiting staff work EVERY day from 8.30am till 11pm with just a few hours off during the day, for nine months! They work so hard and really do make the holiday! This was taken on the last night and it was sad to say goodbye!

Well, that's all for now - I will post more when I have edited the photographs! Thanks for visiting!

Saturday 3 September 2011

My Memories Suite Digital Software Giveaway!

Good Evening!

I know, I know it's been so long since I've been on here, and I have so much to tell you - there's so much to catch up on. I need to tell you about My wonderful holiday, and also about a new addition to our family! However, I have a fantastic give away of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking software, generously donated by My Memories! 

My Memories Suite is an award winning digital software package that allows you to create digital scrapbook pages, cards, trading cards and calendars. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to use this software for myself, and I couldn't believe how east the software was to use, seeing as this was the first time I had done ANY digital scrapbooking. This is my first attempt, and I reckon it took me about 45 minutes!


There are templates for you to use, and you can begin by either using these templates, or starting with a completely blank page. I started with a template then added papers, embellishments, text, shadows and of course the photograph! The suite uses any true type font on your computer, and with all those freebie fonts out there {check usage agreements before using :)}there are simply no limitations! Also on the My memories  site, there is free papers embellishments etc, as well as kits for purchase, which can supplement the software.

I was so impressed with how easy the software was to navigate around, and also to use. I just began by having a play with all the tools, but 45 minutes later I had a page to be proud of! I can also see this software being used in hybrid crafting, as you can print out papers, embellishments etc, then use them in the traditional way!

So, how do you get your hands on this wonderful piece of kit? I have only two conditions. Firstly, please post on your blog OR facebook page about my giveaway, adding a link to my blog; and secondly leave a comment letting me know which my memories digital paper from my Memories.com is your favourite by 11th September at 10am so that I know that you would like to be in a chance of winning! It's that simple, and it could be you! I will choose a winner randomly from the comments.

However, if you can't wait to see whether you win the competition, or looking forward one week, let's hypothetically say that it wasn't you...My Memories have very kindly allowed any and all of my blog readers a  $10 discount on the purchase of the My Memories Suite, AND a $10 voucher towards anything from the my memories website ! How generous is that! Is you would like to go right ahead and download the software at a discounted price, use the Share My Memories code...STMMMS87309....which you should enter when you get to the shopping cart page.

Anyhoo, better get back to editing my photographs from my holiday, and tending to the new addition!