Back from uni :D

Hi.... it's been so so long, how are you all?

I have a few crafty things to share with you, it's been 8 months since I last posted but I don't have that much in the way of crafts to show for it! University and scrapbooking didn't really work together, but I have thousands of memories and photos to scrapbook in the future!

Before I show you, here's a quick review of my last 8 months.... 

Well, I am home again, my first year of university has come to a close! It's flown by! I've just read my last blog post, it's interesting seeing what I wrote before uni, how I found it a daunting prospect. I can now honestly say it's been an incredible year, better than I ever imagined. Bath is a stunning city, I've been lucky to have the best set of housemates I could have been put with, and the course has been great. I did a couple of exams in January, I've been doing lots of coursework throughout the year and have just done my final exams of 1st year. I think they went ok, just got to wait and see now. I've been working hard, but having lots of fun too, it's been fantastic.

So here's a few things I've made since my last post. I've been using holidays and brief trips home to craft when I can :)

I've had the pleasure of sharing this last year with someone very special to me. Soon I will have been with my boyfriend for a year. We have been at school together for many many years and have known each other for a long time. We only decided to be together just before going our separate ways for university (our unis are 6 hours apart by train!) but I am thrilled to say that we have made it through our first year at university and remained together.
I made him this scrapbook page for Christmas, with many little pockets for notes, tickets and anything else we have been collecting from travels together. I tried to keep a theme throughout the pages, with pastel colours, washi tape and kraft.

This year was also my first of making and sending a proper valentines card. So, as you can imagine, I was bursting with ideas! As I mentioned earlier we are far apart at our unis, so this sentiment I found when searching through mum's stash was perfect for the card.

Most gifts I give nowadays have some form of creative aspect, so valentines gifts were not going to be any different! I made this ticket booklet using My Favourite Things dies and stamps. It was great to be able to personalise it, you can buy some pretty distasteful versions online so creating your own is the best way in my view. Here is a view of the inside tickets
(none of them have been used yet, he doesn't want to pull them out of the book! :D)

So, enough lovey dovey stuff now, sorry!

This year I have also been able to try something I have wanted to do for a long long time ... Ballroom and Latin Dancing. Yep I am a strictly come dancing fan, yep I looked around for classes after watching the first series and yep they were expensive and hard to get to. Going to university really is the best chance to try anything you want, it's on your doorstep and is often subsidised.
I am so glad I went for it and tried dancing this year, it's been a great experience and I shall carry on with it next year. I took a Bronze level medal test in Ballroom last week and am just waiting for the results now. The club needed cards as a thank you for our superb teachers, so I offered to make one. Here is what I produced

It took a while, but I'm pleased with it, and so were the teachers :)

Thanks for popping by again, sorry I've been absent all year. I have a busy summer, so I can't guarantee many posts, but I do have a lot of photos from the last year to scrapbook now :)

Until next time, thanks and bye,

Hannah x

Off to Uni

Hi all,

I know I've been incredibly quiet over the summer, well, since the beginning of June, so for ages really!! I've been busy having trips of a lifetime and enjoying a full summer before heading off to university.

I'm just writing this quick blog post to let you know that I got the A*AA I really hoped for at A level and am going off to Bath university tomorrow to study Psychology :-) I'm excited, but also a little daunted by the massive new experience. I have some scrapbooking stash with me, it's a tiny box that has added to the many that have completely filled our boot to bursting point! I hope to get a little bit done whilst I am away, although maybe not this first term! I kept a travel journey from both of my trips this year, I may get around to posting photos at some point. :-)

My summer has included two trips abroad, one to Poland with school friends, on a trip to help teach English in a Polish summer school, and the other, a trip of a lifetime, an expedition to New Zealand on my own.
I spent 2 and a half weeks in Poland, relaxing after exams, spending the mornings helping with a gorgeous group of young Polish children, and the afternoons enjoying the freedom of being away without parents :-)

 Gdansk

 Lake and beach at the end of a hot day

Gdansk

Then at the end of August I flew on my own over to New Zealand for 2 amazing weeks in the beautiful country. I spent the first week exploring Christchurch and Wellington with family members who live out there, then traveled up to Auckland for a week with the gorgeous Kirsty and her family from 365 days of Pinterest creations. The scenery out there is truly incredible, and I visited some great places. Here's a few of the 200+ photos I have :-)

 Kaikoura sunset

 New Zealand Fur Seal having a nice relax

 Albatross, I got to see an Albatross!!

 Sperm Whale

 Dusky Dolphins, these were swimming along with the boat and really showing off

 The gorgeous snow capped mountains

 Castle Hill

 Wellington

 Gannet colony at Muriwai

 Rotorua Geyser

 Hobbiton, the film set from Lord of the Rings

Outside Bill Bo Baggins house :)

Sorry for all the pictures, I couldn't choose!

I am sorry I haven't been able to visit any of your blogs this summer, I'm sure you've all been doing some incredible work that I haven't got to see. I have missed my scrapbooking, I just haven't had spare time it seems, eventhough I've been off school for so long, don't really know where it's gone, all I know is it's been great :)

Bye for now,

Hannah :-)

Poor little neglected blog

Hi all,
This is Hannah here, do you remember me? :)

Don't let anyone tell you that A levels are getting easier and people don't put in much effort for them anymore. It may be true in some cases, but definitely not in mine :) I have been working hard recently, with my final A level exams gradually approaching. It's the Easter break now, so lots of time to get some good revision done (well, that's the plan, I shall aim to keep to it :)

Hopefully I shall find a little time to craft over Easter. I have been crafty, but only a tiny little bit, in order to make items for mothers day. So, I'm here today to share them with you.

This is the card I made for Mother's day. I had been given inspiration for this card a long time ago, unfortunately I cannot find it now, but it was on Amber's blog 'Damask Love'. I was quite pleased with how it turned out, and Mum liked it which is the most important thing :)
I also decorated cupcakes for Mother's day this year. We had a cupcake night at my Ranger's, specifically planned with Mother's day in mind, and we had great fun making icing and decorating the cakes, oh, and making a mess too :)

Here are the cupcakes I decorated. I rolled out and formed some flower petals prior to the evening, so they would support themselves and look realistic when placed on the cupcakes. They didn't last :( Unfortunately by the time I had got around to taking photos and giving them to mum, the moisture from the cakes and icing had caused the petals to flop. I really loved making them though, I think I may make some more for Easter :)

So, that's the extent of my creative side over the past 5 weeks that I've been absent from this poor little blog. I do have other news for you though. I now have a job, which is another reason my creative time has been lacking. I have a weekend job at our local garden centre, which is brilliant, I am enjoying it and it is great to be earning my own money for the first time :) I work every other weekend, so it fits perfectly with my school work, and so far I have found time to keep comfortably up with both.
I have other news too, and this is the news I am most pleased and proud of. I resat some of my Math's modules from last year in January, and have been given the results back. I am very proud to tell you that I have now achieved an A* in Mathematics. I was so so chuffed :) My offer from Bath of A*AA now feels so much more achievable, and they do not mind if you have resat to achieve the A*, so now, I need 2 A's and I should, hopefully, very hopefully, get into Bath university :) It's a lovely weight off my shoulders, although obviously I haven't let myself slack now, and am working my socks off to get the other grades. I also sat two maths modules that count towards my further maths A level, achieving 100% in one of them and 95% in the other, which I am very pleased with :)

Ok, so that's my little update, hopefully I shall be back during half term sometime :) Thanks for coming back and looking at my blog again :) Sorry I haven't been able to look around at all of your gorgeous blogs and crafts for a long time.

Bye for now,
Hannah :)

P.S. Thanks again to Katherine (Sutty) for passing on a lovely blog award to me, it means a lot to know you like my work  :)

A long time

Hi all,

I'm so so sorry it has been ages since I've visited you all in blogland and posted anything on here. Life has been busy what with January modular exams, and many other things.

I'll give you a little update later in the post, but to start off I'll share with you a digital scrapbook page I have just made. I sat down today after school and decided to make a digi page. I wanted to finally get around to creating a page for Miss Smith's Just One Sketch Class, which started over a month ago. I created my sketch back in the beginning of January, but hadn't, as yet, managed to find time to start the class and use it. So here we go, my first page for the class.

Here is the sketch I have created for the class.

Prompt 1 for the class was to simply use your sketch to create a layout, so I have stuck quite closely to the sketch, and really like the result.

I also created this LO for the current TPV challenge which gives you photo inspiration. Unfortunately I have just realised and remembered that the main criteria for 'The Paper Variety' is the Paper, so digital layouts do not count :( Oh well, it was great inspiration and I like the layout so no loss really.
Here's the photo inspiration I used

I used the colours as inspiration, using only white, grey, black, green, and then a splash of the brown/ginger to match her hair. I also took inspiration from the fact the film is apparently set in Ireland, and scrapped a photo from my trip to Northern Ireland in 2010. I decided to mimic the text and fonts on my LO, so used a big white alphabet for the title, and then have written my journalling in the style of the credits on the poster. Here's a close up of the journalling to show what I have mean.

Hope you like it.

Right, so, where have I been and what have I been up to. 

University, I have a fair bit to update you on for that. I have finally heard back from the University of Bath, I was waiting for ages and beginning to feel quite impatient. They got back to me last week with an offer of A*AA. I am really hoping I can/have achieved that as I really really want to go to Bath, it's a gorgeous uni with a stunning course.

I have been to department open days at both York and Warwick over the last few weeks. I really like York too, not as much as Bath, but it is a lovely university with may opportunities and facilities, so it shall be my insurance choice. I didn't think much to Warwick at all, it felt too much like an industrial park, just lots of grey big buildings as the departments. 

What other news have I got. Oh yes, I am now legally allowed out there on the roads on my own as I passed my driving test last week :) So pleased to have passed first time.

I can't think of anything else, apart from being busy keeping on top of the A level work.

I hope you are all well. Sorry I have not been around to comment or anything recently, hopefully I shall get the chance to visit you in the next few days.

Bye for now. 

Hannah :)

Christmas presents, biscuits and an Oxford update

Hi all,

I'll start off today by sharing with you the gifts I made for my girl friends. I decided to create a She Art girl for each, on an 8x10" canvas, with the girl based on them. I created an outfit that resembled an outfit I know they have or the style of outfit that I associate with them, and a saying that sums up their best quality. So here goes. I shall show you the canvases on here, and then shall post close ups of each on my Flickr page.

I hope you like them, and I hope my friends like them. Some have already opened them, but not all :)

I decided that whilst I had a little time and wanted a bit of a break, I would do some Christmas baking. So the other day I found a great recipe and set about baking some Christmas Spice Biscuits. I must say that actually they are really nice, even if I say so myself.
It was great fun to spend some time just baking, listening to carols and Christmas songs on the radio and smelling the gorgeous Christmas spices and the biscuits cooking. I had to take a photo of them ready to scrapbook, and took quite a few during the baking process, as I never seem to take many photos at Christmas, so am taking a lot this year as I have a Christmas pad that I am desperate to use :) I also really wanted to fetch out our 50mm lens and crank the aperture to f1.7, I love this shallow depth of field and don't seem to use it enough.
Here are a few of the biscuits :)

The recipe is here

So onto my Oxford news. Well I'm afraid to say that it isn't good news. I had my reply letter today and I have not been given an offer to Oxford. I say it's not good news, obviously I'd have been very proud to have received an offer and it would have been nice, but I'm not upset or bothered by the news, so it's not bad news. I am incredibly proud to have got as far down the Oxford application route as I have, and the interview experience was so brilliant. You may remember me writing shortly after visiting Bath university earlier in the year how much I absolutely loved it. Well it hasn't changed, and Bath and Oxford are both up there joint top of my university list. I haven't yet heard back from Bath, so my hopes now rest on there, and would be equally overjoyed getting to Bath as the course is amazing. Thank you very much for all of your support and encouragement throughout the university application process, I haven't given up hope yet and shall keep you updates with the further twist and turns of my application. :)

Ok, think that's it from me now.
If I do not get back on here before Christmas, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, I hope you all have a great time.
Bye for now,
Hannah :)

Update

Hi all,

I've finally found time to just sit in front of the computer and type!! So here goes, a bit of an update on my hectic life.

We've now broken up from school. Yipee, I'm looking forward to the slight break I'll get over this Christmas. I have scrapbooking I want to do, a driving theory test to prepare for, Christmas decorating to do and lots of school work ready for January exams.

So, I'll start by telling you about Oxford. I went down to Oxford last Sunday afternoon and arrived at my college, Lady Margaret Hall, in time for the evening dinner. Straight away the college felt so friendly, everyone would speak to you and it was easy to make friends. I then spent the first evening settling into my room and chatting away to people in the JCR (junior common room). I was first up for interview for our subject, with my interview at 10am no the Monday. The interviews are very strange. The tutors are all lovely, and I didn't feel too nervous which was good. As expected the questions were tough, and it's incredibly hard to possibly say whether I think it went well or not, because no one knows specifically what they're looking for, and you don't know if you're what they want. It didn't go horrendously bad though, and I did my best. I then went into Oxford in the afternoon to shop a little and enjoy the gorgeous city and Christmas feel. I had another interview on Tuesday, everyone applying for Experimental Psychology gets 2 interviews, and my second was at Somerville. This one didn't feel too bad either, it was very different from the first as the tutors had obviously conversed and the second was a lot more about the subject and not about me. Again, I tried my best, an whatever happens now, I know I tried my best, showed them the real me and I'm proud enough to have got to interview.
We shall hear back from them in the next few days, they said that reply letters shall be sent by the 20th, so I'll know by Christmas. I made so many great friends whilst I was there, thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and shall be happy either way, whatever the outcome, as it's been a great journey and I am proud to have got this far.

Here's a few pics from the trip

My mock exam went ok on Thursday, it was a Biology mock. I am finding Biology quite hard at the moment, there is just sooo much to know and to apply to strange situations. I'll definitely be doing a lot of Biology work over Christmas to try and pack my brain with the facts.
We also had our sixth form Christmas social event on Thursday, which was great fun :)
I have finished and given out my friends Christmas presents. I haven't yet sorted the photos I took of them, so I shall show you their presents another day :)
I managed to fit in a bit of Christmas baking yesterday, it's ages since I've baked. I've made some Christmas spice biscuits, and they are really quite yummy even if I do say so myself. Hoping to make some peppermint creams later today, I LOVE peppermint creams, soooo gorgeous, yum yum :D

Ok then, I think I'll leave it at that.
Bye for now,
I'll be back another day.
Thanks for looking and for all of your support.
Hannah :)

Very exciting news

Hi all,

I have some news to share with you all. :)
You may be able to guess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . but you might not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I don't know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . shall I just tell you anyway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I've been given an interview at Oxford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooo happy, feel so chuffed to have got through to the interview stages. I heard from them on Wednesday. I had an email from the college I've applied to and I felt fully prepared and psyched up to open it and for it to be a rejection. I had been following the updates on the college website and that had said you will hear one week before the interview date. This email arrived earlier than a week before the interview so in my head it was definitely going to be a rejection. Nevertheless it wasn't, and to say I was happy is an understatement!! I have told all of my family, everyone, I am really chuffed :D
I get to spend at least 1 night in the college, shall have the opportunity to meet and socialise with existing students and other prospective students, and get 2 interviews, one at my chosen college and one at another of the colleges. It's all so exciting :D
I shall be sure to keep you posted, let you know how it all went, and of course take photos a plenty so I can scrapbook the experience. I am so grateful to get through to interviews as I can experience life in the college even if I do not ultimately end up there. :)

Then more news, I've just logged on to my UCAS account and I have, today, been given another offer, this time from York University with conditional grades of AAB. UCAS seems to be a little behind as I haven't yet had an email to confirm the offer, but that was a lovely pleasant surprise when I logged on :)

Been having a great week. Had a great driving lesson on Tuesday, and now I am on my Dad's car insurance I can go out in between lessons. Mum is a great passenger, she's managed to remain very calm (not that my driving's bad, but it must be nerve racking letting your daughter take control of the car!). Yesterday I drove us both shopping which was lovely, I had a day off for a progress check day, so we made good use of the time to ourselves without Dad or James to drag around Christmas shopping. Oh no, I've just said the dreadful word, the day that is gradually drawing so much closer and I have not got anything sorted yet!!

Anyway, that's enough about me, you may be able to tell I'm ever so slightly excited and hyper by the amount I've written!! Sorry :D

I hope this post finds you in a good mood too, I hope you are all well.
Bye for now,
Hannah :)

Thanks

Hi all,
Sorry once again for being absent, I have meant to pop back and let you know how everything has been going, but it's so busy here that I haven't even had chance for that. Today though, I will make time to update you all.
First up though, it's time to say thanks to TPV. At TPV, the current DT are nearing the end of the time with the challenge, and that unfortunately includes me. Boy has it gone quick!! Team B have 3 more challenges left, and today I am here to share one of those, so now it's down to 2!
This week's challenge

Thanks and Thankful

At TPV, this weeks challenge is to use 'thanks' or 'thankful' on your paper project. Share a little thanks, make a project and link it up to TPV. The prize on offer for this challenge is:

A lovely set of sentiment stamps from My Creative Time.

I look forward to seeing your 'thankful' projects.

My card was made to thank an amazing group of people that I spent my half term with. During the half term week I had a week of work experience with the NHS, working with one of their IAPT groups. I had a thoroughly brilliant time, I learnt so much, met many great people and enjoyed experiencing Psychology as a profession. I really hope they liked their card, I just had to make one and send it, I had appreciated the work experience so much.
Here is a close up 
I got inspiration for this card from one of Mum's card magazines. I had seen it a while ago and loved it, so knew what design I would use for this card. I used a mixture of papers and ribbons for this card, then stitched white zigzag lines along the edges of each. I hope you like it.

In my last post I mentioned my entrance exam for Oxford. I had to sit the TSA exam which is for those wishing to study Psychology, Economics or Philosophy. I was the only one from my school taking that exam, so was sat in a little room on my own. The test was hard, very, very hard, although I wasn't expecting anything else, they have to make it hard as at the end of the day they only want those with the highest ability. I don't think it went particularly well, it really didn't, but I have to wait until January to get the results form the test. I should hear back from Oxford in the next few weeks to find our if I have been short-listed for interview, so I shall just have to wait until then. The exam was bad, but since I have made myself be positive, I tried my best, I worked hard to practise as much as I could before hand, and I shall just have to wait to hear back from them, I can't change anything now. I shall let you know when I hear anything back.
My application was sent off just over a month ago, and I have so far heard back from one of my University choices making me an offer, which is very exciting, I'm pleased to know they've received it and that someone likes the look of my application :) I'll keep you updated.

Since the entry exam I have felt like I can breath a little more, although I have since devoted myself to my A level subjects as I have modules in January and I've let them slip a little whilst preparing for my entry exam. So, it's work work work here, hence me being so quiet, but I don't mind, I know that the effort I put in now will be beneficial and it'll help me get where I want to be. :)

So, I've updated you up to the current day. I'll try and keep you posted, but for now, thanks for reading. I hope to see your entries over at TPV this week, and I shall be back here soon. :)

Bye for now,
Hannah :)