Merry Christmas!

Well, it has been some months since I last posted - four to be precise! It feels so good to be posting again as I have really missed blogging and keeping in touch with the friends I've made as a result of crafting and blogging. So much has happened in the last four months, not just with work but with health related issues, particularly with my husband's family and then in the last few weeks with Steven himself. Fingers crossed as we seem to be all right at the moment and had a lovely Christmas. I hope that you all did too and that Santa was good to you.

The weather continues to be very cold with us still and in fact snowed most of the day yesterday! This weather is definitely not going to go away in a hurry.

Anyway, I have managed to make a few Christmas cards in recent weeks and loved having the opportunity to have a go at playing again. I'm going to try and get back into the swing of it again during my holiday, starting with some thank you cards. My hope is that when I go back to work I will keep it up. So I keep telling myself!

Here are some of the cards I made recently.



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Hope to be back soon!

To blog or not?

Morning everyone,

Again it has been ages since I posted on here as my life continues to be hectic even when I'm on holiday! There seems to be a common theme of me apologising whenever I come on here for not posting for ages. I am actually having a bit of a dilemma with this one. I am considering stopping my blog as I feel that I just don't have the time I'd like to spend on it. I go back to work on Monday and have a new role which is going to keep me extremely busy, more so than I was before and to top it all I am applying to go back to Uni to study part time. With that will come lots more work and so realistically I am thinking when am I ever going to find the time to post??

It is such a difficult decision to make as I have really loved having my blog and I have met such wonderful friends as a result of this and I love checking out what everyone else gets up to. Why are decisions never easy? I will ponder some more before fully deciding. At least if you pop on here one day and I'm gone, you'll know what has happened!

Today I am going to be busy with lots of things including filling in an application form, getting prepared for going back to work, ironing and some gardening. Well I'm hoping to squeeze most of that in. I am going to try really hard to find some crafting time tonight (first time in ages) to make some much needed cards for birthdays, engagements etc. We'll see how I got in. I'll leave you with a card I made before I went on holiday. It's very simple but I quitte like it! ;o)

Have a great day whatever you are doing.

AWARD TIME

The weeks are passing by so quickly. I can't believe that my holidays are almost over! I haven't done half of the things I wanted to! I'll need to go into work for a couple of days next week to start getting organised for going back the following week. It's been two weeks since I last posted as I was away on holiday and since we've come back, I've had the dreaded washing and ironing to catch up on that comes with going on holiday and have had lots of visitors. I'm also addicted to playing Farm Town on Facebook - I mean seriously addicted! It's disgraceful! Anyway, I hope to be posting more regularly in the next week or so as we know that once I go back to work, I'll be swamped with things and won't have a life again. The joys!

I have been lucky to be given these awards recently so thought that I'd pop on and get them posted.




I have been awarded this by my lovely blogging pal Vikki who always leaves me lovely comments and inspires me with her fantastic creations. Thanks Vikki!

The terms of this particular award are:-
1. Make reference to award and publish it on your blog
2. Share 5 things you like to do
3. And share with 10 blogs
4. Inform each blog
The 5 things i like to do are :
1. Spending time with my husband Steven and my three year old son Lewis.
2. Research my family tree. I've been doing this for about 4 years now and still have lots and lots to do. I'll still be doing it no doubt when I retire!
3. Scrapbooking and cardmaking - It's lovely to make cards for others and to see their face when they open them. I think it is so important to preserve memories for future generations. Scrapbooking and genealogy go together so well!
4. Blogging - I have met such wonderful friends through starting up a blog. It really was one of the best things I've done.
5. Reading - I never get enough time to do this as I always have more important things to do. The only time I read during term time is for things to do for work. Sadly, reading for me is kept for holidays as if I try to read in bed, I fall asleep after 10 minutes and have to reread what I read the night before the following night. A waste of time!

I'd like to pass this award to the following friends:

Vikki
Sarah-Jane
Riane
Meahni
Mar
Manda
Debz
Kelly
June
Clare


I was also awarded this by Vikki a little while ago and this is me just getting around to getting it on my blog! What am I like?????



Here are the rules of this award:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
I would like to pass this award to......

Clare
Kaylou
Claire
Denise
Louise
Sheila
Riet
Avril
Jo
Bernie
Zoe
Melissa

** I've only posted 12. This is taking me so long!



I was awarded this award and another below by my very lovely bloggy pal Debz. I'm sure that most people will be familiar with Debz as she is on the DT team for thePassion for Promarkers Challenge and does the most wonderful colouring! Wish I could colour as well as her. If you've never checked out her blog before, what are you waiting for?

I am going to award this to the following 5 people:

Avril Ann
Kelly
Sarah-Jane
Mel
Stacey



The conditions of the award are:-
I must thank the person who gave me the award.
List their blog and link to it.
I must list 10 honest things about myself.
I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
I must select at least seven other worthy bloggers & list their links.
I must notify the bloggers of the award.

Here we go then:

1. I'm normally a calm, patient person.
2. I'm a perfectionist - to my own detriment at times.
3. I can't stand people being rude.
4. I hate coffee.
5. I love to help others, well most of the time! :o)
6. I hate Daddy Long Legs and freak out if they come near me, especially if I am in the house on my own.
7. I love to have a good natter with my pals.
8. I'm a typical Piscean.
9. I'm looking forward to being my sister's bridesmaid in 2011.
10. I'm thinking of going back to University to study again and gain further qualifications.

I am going to award this to the following friends:

Clare
Stacey
Kelly
Riet
Meahni
Avril Ann
Sammi


Phew!!!That Took me a while! Hope to be back later with some photos of our holiday to Disneyland and maybe a card or two!

Holiday Time!

It's been a while since I last posted. Even though I am on holiday from work, life has still been pretty hectic with lots of things to catch up that I don't normally get done during term time. The last few days I have been busy ironing and packing for our holiday to Disneyland Paris. We leave tomorrow and are away for about 10 days all in all with a stop to Legoland in Windsor on our way back. I have also become a bit of a facebook addict and have become addicted to playing the games on there! It's so nice to be able to spend the evening not doing work - I could get used to that!! The weeks are flying by in saying that and it won't be long until I am working again at night. I'm trying not to think about that too much!

I have managed to have a wee bit of a play and have made a few cards, this being one of them:



Stamp:Gorjuss Girl
Paper: Black cardstock, paper from stash
Medium:Copic Ciao
Tools: Martha Stewart Doily Lace Punch, corner punch
Embellishments: Sentiment from Craftwork Cards

Well I'm off to get more ironing and packing done and then going to get my hair cut and coloured and Lewis' hair cut too. Then tonight I'm off to the picture to see My Sister's Keeper with some friends so looking forward to a good girly night out before I'm up bright and early tomorrow.

This will probably be my last post for around two weeks. I'll llok forward to catching up with everyone when I get back.

Scrapping - Summer Days

Yesterday I spent the day doing some scrapping which I haven't done for quite some day and rediscovered how much I really enjoy it despite the fact that it takes me ages to do one layout. I'm so pernickety and like everything to look just right before I stick it down. I'm my own worst enemy at times and need to speed up! Anyway, I completed this layout of Lewis enjoying the summer weather recently. He just loves to be out in the garden playing with his toys which incidentally take up most of the garden! He also loves riding on his bike at the moment and loves to go for long walks with mummy so that he can cycle which I don't mind because it is good exercise for me. I am really pleased with how this turned out and since it was my first one of the day it spurred me on to do more.

I used this week's sketch from pencil lines and the paper was from DCWV Paper stack 6 which I bought in WHSmith at the weekend in their sale. It has lots of gorgeous papers which is spurring me on to do more scrapping too. I printed the letters onto cardstock and cut them out and the stamp was from a download I purchased ages ago from Designer Digitals I think!

I had great plans to get lots of crafting done today but have only managed to colour some images instead as I have been watching the Michael Jackson memorial on iplayer for most of the afternoon as I missed it last night and desperately wanted to see it. I did manage to colour some images whilst I watched so I will try to get some cards made tonight.

8th Wedding Anniversary

Morning all,

Today is my 8th wedding anniversary which I believe is bronze or pottery in traditional terms and either lace or linen in modern terms. I can't believe where the last 8 years have gone, they have passed so quickly which I guess is a good sign! Steven and I have actually been together 14 years tomorrow which again seems like only yesterday! It is also my friend Carol's birthday tomorrow and she was the one who got us together. A good way to always remember her birthday, not that I'd ever forget anyway!

Here is the card I made for Steven:



I used papers which I bought at the Artstamps show in Edinburgh recently and coloured the Rachelle Miller image which I have had for yonks with my copics. I'm slowly getting used to using these! The red raffia is from Tescos which I bought at Christmas time but didn't use on any cards! The sentiment is from Cuddly Buddly and the dew drops are from Kirsty Wiseman's shop. I quite like the way this has turned out!

This is the card I made for Carol's birthday:



Carol loves handbags and so I thought that this would be a great choice for her and also was a nice change for me to make a card which didn't involve using images. It was so quick and easy to make too. All of the materials used are from Craftwork Cards. I bought a goody bag which cost me £10 at Easter time which was fantastic value for money and was crammed full of lots of goodies. The sentiment included wasn't included but I also bought these from Craftwork Cards.

Well, today I am going to try and get my creative juices flowing and do some scrapping as I haven't done any for a long time. I have so many photos to use and a mountain of papers to use as I keep buying thinking that'll be great for ...... but never get around to doing anything due to lack of time. I'm also going to try and pluck up some courage to use my cuttlebug! We'll see how I get on! :o)

Summer Days

It seems so long ago since I last posted! I have had such a few busy weeks and I'm still recovering! I'm now on holiday thank goodness and I'm looking forward to making up for lost time and getting lots of crafting done! I spent the last week of term away with my class on a residential trip just outside of Aviemore which was great fun. We had absolutely glorious weather to enjoy all of the activities that we took part in. The kids had a ball and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I never sleep very well when I am away on residential trips, such a huge responsibility being responsible for other people's kids 24-7. I missed my wee man hugely whist I was away and was really happy to be back home last Friday to see him. I have spent the whole of this week trying to recover and catch up with lots of things too. I have also been enjoying the fantastic weather that this week has brought and have coloured some images today and yesterday so that I can get several cards done hopefully tonight and tomorrow. I hope to be back tomorrow to post some of my creations, probably tomorrow night as I am meeting some friends for lunch tomorrow.

The picture above is of Lewis enjoying the sunshine and playing with his water table out in the garden. His "cheeky monkey" hat is so apt at the moment, loves getting up to mischief!

Happy Birthday Joana!

Happy Birthday Glitter Graphics


Many happy returns to my lovely SBS sister and blogging buddy Joana whose birthday is today. I hope you've had a wonderful day Joana and have been spoiled rotten!

Haven't managed to get any crafting done at all this week due to another chaotic week! I'm trying to get everything tidied up and finished off now for the end of term as I am going off on a residential trip on the last week of school. Lots to be done before then and not enough time to do it as per usual! Aaargh!

We've just returned from a night out at the circus which is in town at the moment. I haven't beem to the circus since I was a little girl and was so looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed by the quality of the performance but Lewis enjoyed it so that was the main thing! It has rained most of the day here so hoping for some better weather tomorrow, not that I'll be able to have the time to get a tan!

Hope you're having a great weekend whatever you are doing!

Blogging Buddies

Once again, it's been a very long time since I posted! The weeks continue to fly by and as usual my life seems to go flashing past me as I always have something to be doing work wise! Roll on the holidays. Three weeks and counting!

Yesterday I had a lovely day when I met up with my bloggy buddies Debbi and Manda and went to the International Art Stamp and Paper Craft Fair at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh. It was so great to meet them. I didn't spend too many pennies so hopefully will be able to make a few purchases online in the next couple of days getting the things that I really wanted but couldn't get!

Thanks to everyone who offered me some advice about using my Cuttlebug in my last post. This was greatly appreciated as I am TERRIFIED to use it! Debbi was great at reassuring me yesterday that it will be fine and I even bought some new nesties to use in it. I now just need to find the time to try it tentatively. I'll let you know how I get on!



The card above is one that I made some time ago for one of Lewis' nursery nurses who went off on Maternity Leave and has since had a wee boy. Her face isn't the best so don't click for a close up! She seemed happy enough with it so that's the main thing!

I have had quite a few awards given to me lately by some lovely ladies which I haven't gotten around to posting because I haven't been blogging or crafting. Apologies ladies for the delay in posting these - better late than never! That seems to be my motto at the moment in my very hectic life!

FREINDSHIP AWARD

I was given this award recently by Riane and Vikki, two special bloggy buddies:

The Friends award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to five bloggers who must choose five more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I award this to: Riane, Mar, Manda, Debbi and Riet


HONEST SCRAP AWARD

I was given this by two very special bloggy pals , Mar and Debbi

There are rules with this award....They are -

1 - Thank the person that gave it to you.

2 - List 10 honest things about yourself.

3 - Put the honest scrap logo on your blog.

4 - Select 7 other bloggers that you think deserve this award

Ten honest things ......... let me think ...........

1. I am very hardworking.

2. I am a Piscean.

3. I am a control freak!

4. I dislike people who are rude and have no manners!

5. I am partial to a glass of red wine or a southern comfort and lemonade.

6. I love spending time with Lewis and Steven.

7. I love lying on a beach in the sun reading a good book.

8. I am very loyal to my friends.

9. I work long hours.

10. I am very committed and dedicated to my job.

I would like to pass this award to: June, Clare, Riane, Sarah-Jane, Melissa, Joanna and Vikki

Well, I am off to get organised for the grand finale of The Apprentice. Have you been watching? Who do you think is going to win? It'll be interesting ........I think that Yasmena may just pip Kate as she takes more risks but to be honest I'd be happy for either of them to win. Go girls!

I hope to be back much sooner than my last post!

Birthday Boy

Morning all,

Well I didn't get around to posting or crafting last night as I had planned! I was exhausted after all the running around with Lewis' party. We had a fantastic day and he was so excited. The kids all had a ball and were so well behaved which helps. Lewis is a Aliens Vs Monsters fan at the moment so I used this theme to create his birthday card this year. It's the only card that I have managed to make recently much to my dismay. I have lots of new Gorjuss Girl stamps that haven't seen any ink yet, I'm just desperate to use them! Anyway here is the card I made for Lewis and one of the birthday boy himself at his party yesterday:
Today I am going to be very busy trying to get through the bulk of my reports and then tonight I plan to relax by getting some crafting done although that will depend on how much I get done! I'm looking for a bit of advice with the Cuttlebug. Santa brought me one at Christmas. I used it once and then it broke! The shop that Steven bought it from refused to do anything about it because she said that I had used nesties in it and that you are not supposed to use them with the cuttlebug! You can imagine my horror when I found this out as that was a large factor in me wanting a cuttlebug in the first place. She suggested that I contact Provocraft to see what they could do. They were great and replaced it for me by sending a brand new one very swiftly. I have had a new one for weeks now but I am terrified to use it. I don't want to go breaking this one too. Anyone got any advice who used nesties in the cuttlebug as well as the embossing folders? I would greatly appreciate it! I think I could be doing with a wee masterclass!

Have a great day whatever you are doing! Hope it's not raining where you are! :o)

Lainy xxx

Time flies!

I can't believe it has been 3 and a half weeks since I last posted. Where does the time go? I have been really swamped recently with work, it's all go at the moment. I have a student on placement with me at the moment for 5 weeks and I'm in the middle of writing reports which take a very, very, very long time. It was also Lewis' 3rd birthday on Tuesday and what a great day he had. He was so excited and got lots of lovely presents, he was a very lucky boy! We're having a party for him this afternoon so he is very excited about that and it can't come quick enough. I thought that I'd pop on here quickly before I get knee deep in the rest of the things which have to be done before then. I hope to be back later tonight and have some time to myself tonight to get some crafting done as long as I am not too exhausted. I have a day off work tomorrow but that will need to be used to write more reports! Boo hoo!

Pink and sparkly

I can't believe that it is Thursday already. The week has gone flying by which is a good thing since I'm back at work. Last night my class and the class next door put on their WW2 performance for parents, grandparents and family friends and what a night it was! I'm still on a high as are the kids as they were outstanding. I felt so proud last night and priviledged to be working with such a talented bunch of young people. The show was based around a grandmother recalling her memories of living through WW2 to her grandchildren through drama, singing and dancing. We also had a small orchestra playing too as we have several kids who play piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass. They were all absolutely out of this world and the audience were blown away. A memory I'll treasure forever and never forget! Pleased that it is Friday tomorrow though as I am feeling really tired and still have a real chesty cough and annoying head cold which came on last week and is still lingering. I have been hoping to get some crafting done but haven't been successful so far and well don't think it'll be happening tonight as I have a lot of work to get done! So why am I on here? Putting off the inevitable ....

This card was another which was made for my sister's birthday. I just love this stamp, it's so adorable. Think I'll be using this more often.

Stamp: Whiff of Joy: Confirmand Melinda
Paper: Can't remember where it's from, in my stash
Medium: prisma pencils, sansador, glitz it glitter glue
Tools: Martha Stewart Lace punch
Embellishments: card candy and sentiment from Craftwork Cards, prima flowers

Was having trouble coming up with a title for this post, that's why it's rather random. Off to get some work done now. Have a great night whatever you are doing!

Blog Candy Winner!

Evening everyone,

Apologies for not getting round to posting this yesterday. This was due to the weather being so fantastic yesterday and being the last day of my holidays I just had to enjoy it as it is not often that we see the sun or have the temperatures that we did yesterday in Scotland! It has also taken me so long to put everyone's names in a bowl, how time consuming is that! Next time, I'll definitely be using a random number generator - have learned my lesson the hard way.

Well, after 212 entries later and we have a winner ..................................

Thank you so much to everyone who took part, I never imagined that I would have that huge number of entries when posting it two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to visit everone's blogs so far but hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be able to do this. Thank you also to those of you who liked my blog well enough to become a follower, that was much appreciated. I'll look forward to meeting lots of new bloggers as a result and keeping up with your creations. I have also posted the 10,000 mark during the last couple of weeks which is fantastic. I'll need to have more candy shortly to celebrate!

I'm kind of dragging this out a bit aren't I? Get on with it I hear you shout (if you haven't already scrolled to the winner's name that is!)

And the winner is ............................................

Samantha from Samantha's Handmade Cards

Congratulations! Please email me before Friday so that I can get the candy sent off to you. My email address is on my profile page.

Hope you are having a great night whatever you are doing. I had lots of plans for tonight but seeing as it has taken me son long to write out names and do the draw I think my plans are well and truly out of the window. Maybe tomorrow night I'll manage to get some crafting done, here's hoping!

Whiff of Joy

Just popping on here quickly to post one of the cards I made for my sister's birthday which is on Monday. I am intending on getting some crafting done next so don't want to spend lots of time blogging as I normally do! I am going to enter this card into the Papertake Weekly Challenge as their challenge this week was to use pastel colours.

The image is Whiff of Joy: Musing Melinda and is the stamp which you can win in my blog candy which closes in just over 4 hours! So if you haven't already entered, do so before then! Don't worry you won't win a used stamp as I bought an extra one in anticipation of my blog candy :o) I really like the way this card turned out and hope my sister likes it too! Will be back later this evening to close my candy and possibly post again!

Stamp: Musing Melinda (Whiff of Joy)
Paper: Always and forever digital kit by Zoe Pearne from sweet shoppe designs
Medium: Prisma colours and sansador, glitz it glitter glue
Embellishments: pink ribbon from my stash, sentiment from craftwork cards

My Blogoversary Candy

************THIS BLOG CANDY IS NOW CLOSED*************


As promised I am posting my candy to celebrate my blog being one year old recently on 24th March. I can't believe that a year has passed so quickly! I am so glad that I took the step way back then to start a blog. I was a little cautious - who would want to visit me? A year later I have come into contact with so many wonderful people and have met some great friends as a result. To celebrate this I have decided to offer the following candy:



* Whiff of Joy Guardian Angel Collection stamp - Musing Melinda
* 6 x6 pad of Basic Grey paper - Sultry collection
* Pack of Basic Grey Archaic Glazed Brads
* All sorts of things paper scuffers - 2 sided sanders
* Chocolate & Marshmallow card candy from Craftwork Cards
* A selection of charms

To be in with a chance of winning my candy you need to leave a comment on this post to let me know that you are taking part as well as posting a link to my candy on your blog to let others know. I will enter my followers' names twice to thank them for their continued support. There is absolutely no obligation to become a follower but if you would like to that would be lovely.

The closing date is Saturday 18th April at 8pm. I will draw the name of the winning entry and post the name of the winner on Sunday 19th April. I will post internationally.

Good luck!

It's time for tea!

I made this last night to pop in with my sister's birthday pressie after spotting it on the Double Dutch challenge site. I thought that it was such a great idea that I just had to have a wee go and so simple to make too. I think I'll be making more of these! My sister is an absolute tea jenny, more so than me! No sooner has she drunk a cup of tea and the kettle is boiling again! So hopefully she will appreciate this little minding which I have filled with English Breakfast Tea, my absolute favourite and hers too.

Stamp: Gorjuss Girl
Paper: Pink Petticoat
Medium: Prisma pencils
Tools: eyelet setter, scor-pal
Embellishments: ribbon from my stash

I have made some other bits and pieces some of which I can't show yet as they are to send off to some bloggy friends. This is the last day of my holidays and can't believe that I haven't got round to doing everything I planned, same old story! Anyway, I'm off to get some bits and pieces done and hopefully will be back later today or tonight.

Have a great Friday whatever you are doing.

Papertake Weekly Challenge

I made this second birthday card on Thursday using the sketch this week from Papertake Weekly. It was a great sketch which I'll definitely be using again in the future. The image used is Hamish fixing tractor from Sugar Nellie and is coloured with prisma pencils and blended with sansador, the paper is from a digital kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs called Father Know Best, the sentiment and card candy is from Craftwork Crafts.

Tag You're It Birthday Challenge

Well, here I am again! This certainly is a record for me - two postings within ten minutes. You can tell I am on holiday! Anyway, I thought that I'd make a birthday tag to go with the birthday card I made for Paul. I used the same image as before and coloured him exactly the same. I mounted him onto wrapping paper to match the paper I've used to wrap his present, used my eyelet setter to make a hole and threaded through some green, yellow and red ribbon to match the spots on the wrapping paper. I then used a Cuddly Buddly sentiment stamp to complete it.

I was inspired by the Tag You're It challenge posted last Friday as they are celebrating their blog's first birthday. Happy Birthday! I have wanted to do this challenge for ages as one of my blogging buddies Kath is on the DT team but I have never gotten around to it. I really enjoyed making my tag and think I'll definitely be doing more of this in the future.

Well I am off now to make another birthday card for Paul from Steven and I so I'd better get to it as he is having a wee party later this afternoon.

Hope to be back later!

Pollycraft Challenge

Afternoon everyone,

It's a funny old day here at the moment - the sun is shining one minute and then it is raining the next! Hope that the weather is better where you are. I am loving being on holiday at the moment and have managed to find some time to chill out which is good. I have been crafting this morning and have made a birthday card for Lewis' best friend Paul who is 3 today. I was looking for something a wee bit different to use on my card and decided to have a wee look at the Pollycraft Designs website run by Paula as I bought a couple of images at Christmas time to make cards for the kids and really liked them. I came across a new image called Benji - Birthday fun and decided to buy this to use on my card. I really like the way it has turned out and is such a sweet little bear.


Anyway, I have decided to enter the last Pollycraft Challenge which was set and involves you using a digital download from Pollycraft on your project. I have coloured Benji with my prisma pencils and blended with sansador, mounted onto white and red cardstock. I have used totally tropical card candy from craftwork cards (just love these!) at the four courners of the image. I have used Basic Grey cupcake paper, applied some glossy accents to the top of the cake and have printed off my own sentiment on the computer.

Be back in a little bit with another wee project that I have been also working on this morning!

Woo Hoo!

I am sitting here trying to motivate myself to get some work done as I have a forward plan due in on Friday. I just want Friday to arrive so that it'll be holiday time without having to do lots of work before then, wishful thinking! I just popped on quickly to post a card and stick to my word from last night when I discovered that I have won Louise's blog candy! I'm so excited! I really can't believe it. I am so glad that I discovered her blog as a result of her candy as she is an amazing scrapper. Her blog is well worth a visit!

Here is the other card that I made for my mum's birthday using a gorjuss girl. I just love these and can't wait to see the 2nd set which you can pre-order on Friday from Funky Kits.

The paper is Basic Grey Sultry, the scalloped squares, sentiment and card candy are from Craftwork Cards. The ribbon is from my stash and I coloured the image with my new copics. I was really pleased with the end result.

Off to get more work done despite not wanting to but unless I want to be burning the midnight oil tomorrow night and Thursday night I'd better get to it.

Enjoy the rest of your night.

Manic Monday

Well, I didn't quite get round to posting yesterday as I had some visitors and my day seemed to just disappear with lots of things to be done. Thought that I'd pop on very quickly whilst taking a wee break from my work this evening to post one of the cards that I made for my mum's birthday which is today. So without further ado, here it is:

This was my first attempt at a gate fold card and I was delighted with the way it turned out. I was inspired by the birthday card that Monica sent me and thought I'd give it a go. I'm really glad that I did and I will definitely be making a lot more of these. I coloured with my new copic ciao pens which arrived last week and don't think that I've done too badly dor my first attempt. I don't have any memento black ink which most people seem to use with copic but I've ordered some and hoping that it will arrive soon. Instead my image is stamped with stazon black ink as this is what I normally use with my prismas. It has bled just a little but not too much. The sentiment and candy is from craftwork cards, the paper was a freebie from a magazine and the ribbon is from my stash. The image is birthday Hamish from Sugar Nellie.

Well, I'm off to get some more work done and hae a wee cuppa in the process. I'm a bit of a tea Jenny! Will be back tomorrow night to post another card.

Wallet Folder

It's been a wee while since I last posted due to illness and work commitments. Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about my health, I'm feeling much better. Thank goodness! The weeks are just flying past. Only one week to go until I am on holiday for 2 week. Yeah! I am planning to get lots of scrapping done and lots of cards made while I'm off. That's the plan anyway although probably other things will crop up and I need to get started on my reports. Oh the joys! I am so shattered from having done two parents evenings this week and so I am going to try and find some time for myself this weekend and get some projects done. It's my mum's birthday on Monday so I definitely need to get two cards made for then along with a few other bits and pieces. I'm posting a wallet I made a while back to send some images to Denise but have never gotten around to posting it. I made it using a tutorial from Moni's blog. I loved making it and made quite a few but have yet to get around to decorating the front of the others.

I am trying to finalise some blog candy to celebrate blogging for a year and will hopefully post this soon. Hope to be back either today or tomorrow with some more cards/projects!

Have a great day whatever you are doing.

Feeling poorly

I'm off work today feeling poorly with a severe eye infection. Ended up spending most of yesterday afternoon in the hospital being checked out as the doctor thought I may have cellutitis. Fortunately, for me that is not the case but still feeling very miserable. Have been doing some blog hopping today to cheer me up and to get some new ideas. I have come across some fabby blog candy on my travels and so have posted them too. Have posted a card below which I made for Mother's Day on Sunday. I liked the first one so much I decided to make another exactly the same. The papers were from a Shabby Princess Kit I bought a wee while ago called Meet Me in Paris, the papers are absolutely gorgeous. It was my first ever attempt at paper piecing and I think I've done not too badly. I have wanted to try this for ages and I'm glad I had a wee go, will definitely be doing more of this. The sentiment stamp is cuddly buddly and have used stickles on the tilda image.


It will be my blogoversary next Tuesday which I can't believe! How can a year go past so quickly? In that time my cardmaking skills have definitely improved (well I think and hope so anyway!), I have met many great friends as a result and have learned many new things that I never knew existed. I also joined the Sisterhood of Blogging Stampers and met many wonderful ladies and new friends as a result when I was starting out. They are such a great group of ladies who support you no matter what crisis you are having! I am planning on doing a little blog candy to celebrate this and have begun putting together a few bits and pieces. I will post about it as soon as I have gotten it altogether, hopefully this weekend. I have two parents evening to do next week so will be kept busy with that.

Thank heavens it's Friday!

Another busy week, they're just flying by at the moment. Despite being busy I managed to make two cards last night for my mother-in-law's birthday tomorrow. The first card was made using one of my gorjuss girl stamps and was based mostly on a sketch from the truly scrumptious challenge blog. The second card was made using bits and pieces that I actually coloured ages ago which saved me a lot of time last night. I think I'll need to have a batch of images coloured in advance of making cards and that way I might get more made rather than waiting to think about what papers I am going to use before colouring. I'm too much of a perfectionist and control freak!! Anyway here they are:

Lewis' spots are beginning to die away now thankfully although he is still suffering with an eye infection and isn't totally back to feeling like himself yet. Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes. Hopefully, he'll be back to normal soon. Well I'm off to settle down in front of the telly to watch comic relief. We had a fun day at school today and managed to raise a fabulous sum of £851. I might get some more cards made later!

Chicken Pox!

Morning,

Feels as though I haven't posted for ages, well I haven't I suppose because it has been over a week. Had planned to but unfortunately Lewis came down with chicken pox on Thursday so life has been a bit hectic to say the least! Poor wee soul, he has them everywhere! He had a mild dose of chicken pox at the age of 20 months or so I was told! Anyway, at least once they've gone this time he won't hopefully get them again as he has a major dose of them this time. I've been applying calomine cream and administering piriton and calpol like nobodys business in between scratching myself constantly and trying to reassure him when he's getting upset. Thankfully, he hasn't been scratching too much so hopefully he'll continue not to as he has loads on his face.

My birthday which was last Sunday seems like a distant memory now but I'd like to say huge thanks to Monica, Pam, Joana and Kelly (my SBS sisters) who sent me gorgeous cards. They are posted below. Thank you so much girls, they have been admired by many people this week. Kelly also sent me some gorgeous lime green and pink ribbon, some metal tokens, some clear shape templates and some images amongst which were some of my favourite High Hopes image, Froggy Gift. Our SBS group did an image swap away last year and Kelly sent this image way back then. I loved using it so I am really pleased to have some again. Thank you so much Kelly!

From Kelly:

From Joana:


From Pam:

From Monica:
I made this card very quickly during the week for a friend's birthday. It was a really quick one due to lack of time. I used a Gorjuss Girl image for the first time. It was so easy to colour, I can't wait to use the others. I also decorated the inside as lots of people seem to be doing this now and they look so professional. I kept mines really simple as I didn't really have any time to experiment. I had planned on using my cuttlebug as I haven't had much of a chance to use it, however when I went to use it it wouldn't work. There is no tension in the handle at all and so the rollers will not turn the cutting mat. I'll need to contact the shop Steven bought it from to see what they say. Let's hope they replace it! Hopefully, I might get a wee bit of time today to get some cards done as I have a few birthdays coming up.



I have just splashed out on some copics this morning as I got some money for my birthday. I was planning on buying some promarkers (thanks for the advice Mar & Debbi) but after doing some reading yesterday, I thought why not just splash out when I have some money to spend. I have also bought some charms from ebay too as I have been admiring lots of cards with these recently too. Thanks to everyone who gave me tips on where to buy them.

Well, off now to get various jobs done including some crafting as well as a snooze hopefully later as I have been up a great deal of last night with Lewis. It's snowing here at the moment and very cold outside!

Have a great day whatever you are doing!

My Blogoversary Candy

As promised I have finally gotten around to posting some candy to celebrate my blog being one year old on the 24th March. I have had such a lot of fun and pleasure during the past year with posting my creations on my little blog and have met such wonderful people as a result. To celebrate this I am giving away the following:



* Whiff of Joy Guardian Angel Collection Stamp - Musing Melinda
* 6 x6 Basic Grey Sultry paper pad
* Pack of Basic Grey Archaic Glazed Brads
* All sorts of things paper scuffers - 2 sided sanders
* Chocolate & Marshmallow card candy from Craftwork Cards
* A selection of charms

To be in with a chance of winning my blog candy you need to leave a comment on this post to let me know that you are taking part as well as posting a link to my candy on your blog to let others know. I will enter my followers' names twice to thank them for their continued support. There is absolutely no obligation to become a follower but if you would like to that would be lovely.

The closing date is Saturday 18th April at 8 pm. I will draw the name of the winning entry and post the name of the winner on Sunday 19th April. I will post internationally.

Good luck!

Gorjuss Girls!

Evening,

Well no cards made tonight as I am absolutely shattered, about to head to bed and watch Desperate Housewives. Have just given my blog a new look to celebrate the fact that the Gorjuss Girls landed on my doorstep this morning. Can't believe I'm too tired to get them inked up tonight!! Definitely tomorrow night .......

Till then ...... Sweet dreams.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Evening,

I have lapsed! I was doing so well last week! Must do better! Just here on quickly as I have just finished my work for this evening and thought I'd quickly post. Here is the card which I made last weekend for the party that Lewis went to. Lewis is a massive Buzz Lightyear fan at the moment, well anything to do with Toy Story. You can imagine what fun we have, I feel as though my house is like the Disney store at times! Anyway, the birthday boy is also a huge fan so therefore the theme was very easy, the only problem was that Lewis wanted to keep it. It's not long till his birthday so makes life a bit easier when the time comes, won't have to spend ages thinking about it.

I'm hoping to get some cards made tomorrow night if I don't have too much in the way of work to do! I'm in the throes of testing at the moment as well as getting my kids ready for their WW2 performance for parents and parents evening is almost upon me too so lots of preparation to be done. No rest for the wicked! On that note, I'm off to bed.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Girl About Town!

Evening all,

Just popping on briefly before I go to bed, going as a decent time tonight. Have just finished marking some test papers and bits and pieces and had a wee quick blog hop to post some new blog candy. Some great candy out there. Well I failed my challenge yesterday ....I didn't post, did I? Tut tut .... must do better! There's always too many things to be done on your first day back at work, well that's what I tell myself at least.

Here is a card which I made on Tuesday for someone who is celebrating their 30th birthday next week. Oh to be 30 again! I used the recently released Girl About Town downloads from Dottie's World which can be bought from Charmed Cards and Crafts. Great images which even come with each image already coloured in case you are in a hurry and need to make a quick card, a great option. They even come with some sentiments too which co-ordinate beautifully with the images. The paper is a Pink Petticoats download which I bought last week, the flower is from Lakeland (bought these yonks ago) and the gem is from paperchase. I was really chuffed with the end result.



I keep seeing lots of lovely charms and spacers on people's cards and wondering where people are buying them from! I know that you can get some on ebay but would love to know where else people get their stash from???

Well I'm off to bed, not sure for how long until Lewis gets up as he is not a great sleeper and is up EVERY night. I keep hoping that this will change but sadly it doesn't look like it ... maybe when he is a teenager!

Will be back tomorrow. Sleep well!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Afternoon,

I'm posting again! Going to have to try and keep this up as I feel great for once being able to come on here and post on a daily basis instead of once a fortnight! Don't know how long it will last though!! I am sitting here thinking of what I have to do in preparation for going back to work tomorrow. Yes tomorrow, just a short holiday for me! I wish we had a week off like other councils but hey not long till Easter.

I decided that I would have a go at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge this week seeing as I have some time to do it and I loved the look of the sketch set by Nat. It was a fab sketch and really easy to work with. I enjoyed making my card and didn't fuss as much about what was going to go where. I used my new Penny Black stamp "Duckling" which didn't need much colouring and I rotated the sketch. What do you think?

Off now to see what other challenges I might be able to have a wee go at before I start to get my head in gear for work. Boo!

Hopefully, might be back later tonight, if not definitely tomorrow, that's my challenge!!

STRICTLY COME DANCING TOUR

Went to the Strictly Come Dancing Tour last night at the SECC in Glasgow and it was an amazing show. We had a great night. The celebrity dancers did an amazing job - Jodie Kidd, Tom Chambers, Rachel Stevens, Jill Halfpenny, Julian Clary, Gethin Jones, Kenny Logan and Cherie Lunghi as did the professionals. Kenny & Ola got the Scottish vote and won, although I wanted Rachel & Vincent to win as they were my favourites from this series and I was gutted when they didn't win as she is such an amazing dancer and is perfectly suited with Vincent. They did their tango and rhumba which were brilliant to watch, even better than watching it on tele. Jill and Darren were also amazing last night, I loved them in Series 2 (you can tell that I am a die hard strictly fan) and was beside myself when they did their famous jive. It was absolutely amazing. Julian Clary was hilarious, he had the crowd in stitches, the tears were strolling down my face at several points when he was dancing and giving the judges as good as they were getting him. At one point Arlene commented at how "puffed out" he was, to which he replied: "Well, what do you expect when I've just delivered a world class salsa!" His diamond encrusted maracas were shimmying more than he was, put it that way!! Anyway, won't bore you much longer. If you have never been and are a fan of the show, I'd definitely recommend it. You won't be disappointed. Here are some of the many pics that I took (I took well over 200!). Bit keen I know!!




The lovely Denise has given me a friendship award which was really lovely of her. I'm honoured and going to pass it onto the following people:

Mar
Debbi
Nikki
Kath
Sammi

I'm so lucky to have met some wonderful friends through crafting since I begun my blog last Easter and could choose many people to award this to. I've chosen these 5 people as I really appreciate their friendship and they constantly visit my blog and leave such lovely comments which brighten my day, so thank you girls. You're all stars!

Mar and Debbi, my fabulous blogging buddies tagged me last week challenging me to list 20 random tags about myself. It is definitely a challenge and they sure will be random, so here goes:

1. I am a qualified dancing teacher in tap and modern dance.
2. I love Sugar Nellie stamps and now have quite a few in my collection!
3. My favourite alcoholic drink is souther comfort, lemonade and a hint of lime.
4. I've just discovered that I'm a fan of Flake ice-cream.
5. My dancing idol is Michael Flatley, if only I could tap like him!
6. I can never remember jokes.
7. I would love to live in New York (my favourite city in the world)
8. I'd love to learn how to use Photoshop so that I could do digi-scrapping
9. I had guitar lessons as a young child and wish that I had never given up!
10. I'd love to learn how to play the piano well. Maybe one day!
11. I'm going on a hot air balloon ride in the summer which Santa brought me - always wanted to do this.
12. I'd love to go to Australia, New Zealand and Dubai.
13. I hate pineapple, coffee, cabbage and rude people.
14. I'm a tea jenny!
15. I love dancing, swimming , reading, crafting and researching my family tree.
16. I'll be married for 8 years this July.
17. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, some of my favourites being banoffee pie, apple crumble, macaroon, tablet and white chocolate.
18. I love Mexican food, my honeymoon was in Mexico.
19. I love going on holiday somewhere hot, lying beside the pool or on the beach and reading lots of books.
20. I hate Daddy Longlegs, I panic if there are any in the house and no one is on hand to get rid of them.

I'm now going to tag: Libby, Hels, Stacey, Joana and Monica.

My new Whiff of Joy Spring Stamp club kit stamps arrived this morning and they are gorgeous, well worth the wait! I have already stamped them and have been colouring some of them tonight so hope to post what I make with them soon!


My lovely blogging buddy Nikki is celebrating her blogoversary by offering some fabulous candy. I'm quite sure that you are all acquainted with Nikki as she is such a sweet person and is sooo talented. I constantly visit her site to drool over her wonderful creations and see what she has been getting up to. Head over to her blog and say hello if you've never been. You'll be returning over and over again, I can promise you. You can enter her blog candy until 24th February. Go on, get yourself over there.

Will be back tomorrow with some other things I have made recently and perhaps some of the things I get done during the remainder of tonight. I still have a 30th birthday card to make! I'm sitting her tonight so relaxed blogging, colouring and having a glass of wine. So civilised!!! If only every evening could be like this, well I can but dream! Only during the holidays!!

See you tomorrow