Lainy's Little Blog

Welcome

2010-12-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Please sign my guestbook, even if you don't leave any other comment so that I can say hello in return to you as I love to know who has been visiting and where in the world you have come from.

Sugar Bowl Challenge

2010-08-06T03:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't quite meet my challenge of posting again the next day but instead a couple of days later which I suppose is better than I've done in a long time. It was my dad's birthday last weekend and so I made a card for him. I decided to go with another sketch as I hadn't made a card in so long and went for the challenge over at the Sugarbowl where you could choose a sketch from their gallery and what a choice there was too. I eventually decided on the sketch from Challenge 39 but will be using some of their other sketches to make other cards.

I used my new Manga stamp "Scooter Boy" which I won from the Sugar Nellie blog as candy to mark the release of the new Manga stamps. The image was coloured using copics. The papers are Basic Grey and the sentiment is from Craftwork cards.

Be back soon. x

It's been a long time!

2010-08-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

I seem to start every post by saying that it has been such a long time since I posted and I keep vowing to try harder at posting. It just never seems to work out that way due to life being so busy. The last time I posted was during the Easter hols but I literally haven't stopped since then with an assignment to write for uni, a school inspection, some job interviews amongst all the other everyday usual things.

I decided that I would use a challenge to make my first card in a very long time as I wasn't sure I'd be able to just unleash some creativity and to ease me into it gently. I've had a go at the Papertake Weekly challenge as I loved the sketch and having made this card I will definitely be using the sketch to make more cards. So without further ado here it is:

Stamp:Gorjuss Girl from Sugar Nellie
Papers:Basic Grey Olivia from Craft Obsessions
Embellishments and tools:MS Punch from Bunny Zoe Crafts

I'm setting myself a challenge - to post again tomorrow.

See you then!

Easter Holidays

2010-04-09T00:59:00.000-07:00

We went away to London for a couple of days on Easter Sunday which was a fantastic break. We walked for miles and miles each day with our feet really suffering at night but all good fun! Lewis had an absolute ball and didn't want to leave, neither did we. Now we are back home it seems like such a distant memory, especially I'm now in the throes of having to write an assignment for my uni course which needs to be handed in next Friday at the latest. The plan was not to spend more than a few days doing it so that I could enjoy the rest of my holiday but somehow I don't think that that is how it is going to pan out. :o( I spend the whole of yesterday on it and didn't make very good progress unfortunately so today I pretty much won't be stopping either.

I think most of Saturday and Sunday will be taken up too minus taking Lewis to a birthday on both days. No rest for the wicked and no crafting for me! I was really looking forward to playing with some of the goodies that I got for my birthday, but maybe next week if I get this assignment done.

I'm posting a card today that I made last weekend before going to a friend's house for dinner last Saturday night. I just love making easel cards, they are so easy to make and look really effective. I made another two but will post them later.

Supplies
Stamp:Magnolia Easter collection
Paper:Papermania Retro Floral pack
Punches:retro flower punches, SU scallop oval punch, MS doily lace punch

I also made some bags to put small Easter eggs from M & S in to take with us to our friend's house which they loved. I'd made them before but I was more successful with them this time as I had most of the tools to make them this time. They are called Bag in a box and are so easy to make. I made six of them really quickly although ran out of time to embellish them.

Well, I'm off to get Lewis organised to go to the cinema with his best friend Paul who is 4 today and then it is a long day of work for me! Wish me luck!

Be back tomorrow hopefully!

Greetings!

2010-02-18T03:52:00.000-08:00

It's been a while again since I last posted - life has been so busy. I'm at home today as I was yesterday and I will be tomorrow as I feel ghastly with flu-like symptoms. Spoiled my trip to Disneyland Paris at the weekend as I was just beginning to feel unwell and it was bitterly cold there - much colder than here. Anyway, getting bored with sleeping and lying in bed so thought that I would pop on here to post. I made this card and box way back in October believe it or not! How time flies! I was particularly pleased with the box as it is not something that I have done much of in the past and quite liked how it turned out. Think I may have a go at colouring some images now and it may not be so long before I post again.

Hope all is well with you.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

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.

href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3yOUtv54i80/SzjvfC_JK1I/AAAAAAAABHg/EZqXu9OBOZc/s1600-h/P1030246.JPG">

Hope to be back soon!

To blog or not?

2009-08-12T03:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-18T01:08:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T02:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

************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!

2009-04-17T04:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-11T00:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-28T01:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-03T03:38:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-25T14:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-24T14:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-16T11:49:00.001-08:00

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

Promarkers or Copics?

2009-02-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

Morning,

Posting again! Am I a good girl or not??? Maybe you shouldn't answer that!!! Thought I would post quickly before I go and finish a birthday card for Lewis to take to his party this afternoon. It will be my birthday two weeks today and I'd like to get some promarkers or copics but can't decide what! Hoping that you all can help me make up my mind by giving me some advice and what you like best. If you don't mind that, I would really appreciate it.

Have just come across a great RAK via Debbi's blog this morning, being offered by Christine. This is what she is offering:

Great little package. All you have to do is visit the link given to her Scrap Retreat House which is gorgeous and comment on her post telling her what you like best. You have until the 16th February to enter. I would love to be going there to chillout and relax. If only! Maybe if I win the lottery, I could take some blogging pals!

What are you waiting for? Go and have a look!

Hope to be back later on tonight and if not then I'll definitely be back tomorrow with my pics fro the Strictly Come Dancing tour.

Have a great day whatever you are doing!

Biker George

2009-02-14T14:49:00.000-08:00

Evening,

Two posts in one day - amazing! Well I did say that I'd be back later so thought I'd better stay true to my word. As well as being Valentines Day today it is the birthday of my aunt, my cousin and my father-in-law. Happy birthday to you also if you are celebrating your birthday today too!

Here are the cards which I made during the week for my father-in-laws birthday, one from us and one from Lewis.

The image is a George download from the Rock n Roll Collection from Dottie's World which you can purchase from Charmed Cards & Crafts and the papers are Blueberry Cobbler from Shabby Princess. I made the sentiment myself.

The second card was made using Hamish fixing tractor (Sugar Nellie) available from Funky Kits and the papers were some that I downloaded a while back but I can't remember where they came from now! Again I printed the sentiment on the computer.

My father-in-law loved both which I was pleased about necause I find it difficult to make men's cards. Speaking of Sugar Nellie, I have just pre-ordered the Gorjuss Girls stamps from Funky Kits and can't wait until they come as they are absolutely gorgeous. I'm also looking forward to receiving the Whiff of Joys stamp club kit of Elisabeth Bell which I ordered a few weeks back!

Hoping to be back tomorrow at some point although have a busy day ahead of me. Lewis is going to a birthday party tomorrow and then at night I'm going to the Strictly Come Dancing Tour at the SECC in Glasgow and can't wait!!! I'm a MASSIVE fan and went to see the tour last year. I'm sure that it will be even better this year with the celebrities that are taking part, looking forward to seeing Rachel and Vincent as well as Tom and Camilla. I'll let you know what it was like on Monday and post some piccies as I intend on taking lots with the new camera we got at Christmas.

I have just finished Craig Revel Horwood's autobiography that Santa brought me from Christmas and it was an enjoyable and interesting read. I think of him differently now that I have read the gory details about his life, very amusing at points!

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Off to bed to start a new book - decisions, decisions!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T03:40:00.000-08:00

Morning,

At last I'm on holiday and finding some much needed time to craft! Hurray! Our school review went extremely well and this week I've just been trying to chill out a little and recover from the stress and preparation involved in it all. We're now looking ahead to our HMI inspection which is due just after Easter, which isn't long but it would be great to get it over and done with before the summer holidays as we have had such a big build up to it for the last year and a half!

Anyway, on to cheerier things. Here is a card that I made for Steven for Valentines Day today. Unfortunately, he is unwell with tonsilitis the poor soul! Hopefully his card cheered him up!

I made this card using a digi download of Ian and Anya from The Greetings Farm, the gorgeous papers and sentiment are Old Fashioned Girl kit from Pink Petticoat loveheart buttons are from paperchase and the black cord from IKEA. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Think I'll need to get some of the Greetings Farm stamps as the images are so sweet.

Hoping to pop back on later to post some other bits and pieces that I've made this week. I have two birthday cards to make for tomorrow and I'm planning on doing this weeks Penny Black Challenge as I haven't done it for ages. I bought a new Penny Black stamp last weekend so I'm looking forward to using that!

Have a great Valentines Day whatever you are doing!

Happy Birthday Mar!

2009-02-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

It is my blogging buddy Mar's birthday today so sending her lots of happy birthday wishes as she is poorly at the moment. Hopefully, this will cheer her up and make her smile! Go and wish her a very happy birthday!

Monica's Blog candy

2009-02-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

My SBS sister Monica is celebrating her blogoversary by giving away some fabulous candy. Hop over there to see her amazing creations and to say hello and you'll be in with a chance of winning. You have until Sunday 15th February to take part.

Happy Birthday Debbi!

2009-01-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

My lovely blogging buddy Debbi is celebrating her birthday today and has some fab candy up for grabs. Go and check it out and wish her a very happy birthday while you are there!

Happy Birthday Debbi! Hope you've had a great day!

Debbi also tagged me yesterday along with Jenny. You have to find the 6th folder in your picture folder and then select the 6th photo. So I did! Voila!

This picture is of Lewis playing in his bouncy castle in the garden on one of the few good days we had in the summer! Seems like such a long time ago now!

I now have to tag 6 people to do the same so I am going to tag:

Sammi
Mel
Libby
Belinda
Tab
Sue

Well, I'm off to get Lewis to bed and get stuck into marking, planning, making resources, creating dances, ..........the list is endless. A teacher's work is never done, well not mines anyway! I'm very naughty even being on here in the first place!

End of New Years Resolutions!

2009-01-25T04:47:00.000-08:00

It's been such a long time since I last posted. The weeks are just flying by and I haven't managed to do any crafting at all in January. So much for my new years resolution of having a better work life balance. Fat chance of that happening. Today is Steven's birthday and I haven't so much as managed to make him a card, pretty poor. I'm up to my eyes in work, in fact I seem to be living and breathing work 24-7 at the moment. We are being reviewed by the council at the start of February for two days in anticipation of an HMI inspection after Easter. You can guess how much fun that is! So I definitely won't be getting a chance to get anything done until that is over with! It can't come quick enough! Perhaps when I have a couple of days off in February I may get the chance to bring the cuttlebug that Santa brought me out of the box!!!! Well, here's hoping ....... and if you're reading this Mar, I'd definitely love to have a wee get together and crafting session. That would be great! Anyway, I'll stop my moaning now and go and try and celebrate my husband's birthday who incidentally not only shares the same birthdate as Rabbie Burns but is related to him! Yes, you did read correctly, he is the first cousin, 7 times removed of dear Rabbie! What a claim to fame! I hope to be back at some point, don't know when!

Hope your year hasn't been as hectic as mines so far! It can only get better???

Papercraft Planet

2009-01-03T04:16:00.001-08:00

Come and join me!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

Glitterfy.com - Glitter Graphics

Well 2008 has gone and 2009 is here. Hope that you had a great night whatever you were doing and haven't been suffering too much today. We were quite restrained here last night, not too bad which meant that I was headache free today! Hurray! I had such good plans to get lots of crafting done today but that went totally out of the window (start as you mean to go on, eh?). Never mind, I did enjoy a nice walk with Lewis and my sister Lorna while Steven had a snooze and we've had great fun playing with the wii that Steven got for Christmas as well as had some visitors.

Anyway, I've just come on here quickly to say a Happy New Year to everyone who visits my blog. I have met some wonderful friends through blogging in 2008 and hope to meet many more in 2009. I really do appreciate having visitors who take the time to comment on my creations or just stop by for a chat, so thank you and I look forward to getting to know you better in 2009.

I hope to get some serious crafting done tomorrow, no more faffing about! My lovely friend Debbi is doing a PIF candy on her blog at the moment if anyone fancies a shot at winning some. Stop by and say hello to her.

Lainy x

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well Santa has been and gone and the week has passed so quickly! We hosted the Christmas celebrations this year for the first time ever and were a bit apprehensive about the cooking side of things, not because we can't cook but just because we hadn't ever experienced cooking Christmas dinner. However, everything went according to plan - we weren't stressed, cool calm and collected and everything seemed to go down a storm so good practise for next year! lol Lewis was delighted with what Santa had brought (he was in Toy Story heaven!) and we now have enough musical instruments to start a band - drum kit, guitar, keyboard, saxophone. We'd like to say a big thank you to all of the lovely relatives and friends who decided to purchase these wonderful gifts. NOT! We'll be needing a set of earplugs to hear ourselves think, all good fun! I wasn't as organised as I would have liked to have been this year in the week before and leading up to Christmas as having the flu really set me back and all of my plans went out of the window, including making Christmas cards. I didn't make anything like the number I would have liked and I would have liked to spend more time on the ones I did get around to making. But hey ho, maybe next year! I'll need to start now!

Santa was very good to me in the crafting department. I was lucky enough to get a cuttlebug machine and some dies (I so wanted one - thank you Santa) some round nesties to use with it, a 1" scallop round punch, the doily lace edge punch from martha stewart crafts, a threading water border punch and a ribbon slit border punch from fiskars and a scor-pal (which hasn't arrived yet). I did pretty well, didn't I? But, my best present of all was a hot air balloon ride with Steven which I need to do in the next 12 months. This gift was from Steven. I was so chuffed and excited with this as it is something which I have always wanted to do, so my dream has come true! I can't wait to get up in the air but think I'll restrain myself until the summer months, so forgive me if I mention it quite a few times before that big day arrives. I'm so excited!

Anyway, here are some of the Christmas cards I made. The light hasn't been that great when taking photos so they're not the best quality unfortunately.

The two cards above were made using the new Sugar Nellie stamps which I bought recently: Hug in a mug and Snowflake. I also bought Daisy and Rope Swing but haven't gotten around to using them yet! The paper is from DCWV Rose Tinted Christmas. I absolutely love it, there is such a great selection of papers. The sentiment is a Studio G stamp which I bought at the Papermill shop a while back.

I made this card with a Whiff of Joy image given to me by Linda when I did a recent image swap with her. She sent me an amazing selection of images so I need to get around to colouring more of them during the holidays. I think I will need to buy some of these stamps as they are gorgeous. The snowflake dies were kindly given to me by Mar also as part of an image swap and I just love them. Now I have my own cuttlebug, I'll need to get some tips from Mar on how to ge the same as hers as I loved the sparke of the card she has used.

I made this card for Steven using an image kindly given to me by Tab when I did an image swap with her recently. She makes the most amazing cards.

I made exactly the same card as this one for Lewis as I loved the paper and the image so much. The image is a download from Pollycraft called Wilbur and Albert and the paper was from a kit by Summer Driggs called Giving.

Well, this has been a long post for me for a change. I normally don't have as many cards to show! I do have more surprisingly but they can wait for another day, maybe tomorrow. I have lots of thank you cards to make next for the lovely presents Lewis received so I have started to have a think about what I might do and I also want to get started on making birthday cards so that I have a stash and I'm not running about like a heidless chicken as I normally do! We'll see! That's the plan anyway. Tomorrow Steven and I are going to Register House in Edinburgh to do some more research into our family trees, another one of my passions but again don't get enough time to do it! I have been researching for 3 years now and still have lots to do.

Anway, I'm off now to do a bit of blog hopping and catch up with everyones news and creations. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was good to you!

Lainy xx

Birthday card

2008-12-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

Evening all,

Just popped on here before the final of Strictly Come Dancing quickly to post a card that I made at the beginning of the week for Steven's aunts 60th birthday. I haven't had a minute before now to post it as I have been so busy at work this week trying to get things wrapped up for the holidays due to being off work all last week with the flu. Have recovered now but still have quite an annoying cough which I think may linger for a while. Thank you to everyone who left me get well wishes last week, that was very kind and cheered me up.

Anyway back to the card, I used a rubber romance stamp called "Girls Night Out" which I absolutely loved using along with liquid pearls for the first time on the number 60. Quite liked the effect of them, think I may need to buy some other colours. I was really happy with the card I made and Steven's aunt loved it too, so that was a bonus! There's nothing better than seeing someone really happy with something you have made or given to them - brings out the child in me!

I was busy making some other cards last night for family members and will post pictures of them tomorrow along with a picture of the fabulous Secret Santa gift that I received on Thursday from one of my SBS sisters! I was delighted with the contents and can't wait to use the scrummy goodies I received so a huge thank you to my "secret santa". My secret santa gift is on the way to my Secret SBS sister and hopefully they will receive it soon. I also got a gorgeous secret santa gift at work on Thursday so Thursday was a great day for me for receiving gifts.

I'm off now to watch the final of Strictly Come Dancing, my favourite programme as dancing is my number one passion. RACHEL to win!!!! I've voted several times already and will be again shortly.

Have a great night whatever you are doing and wherever you are!

Lainy x

Flu!

2008-12-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

Apologies for my lack of blogging again! I had hoped to get lots of Christmas cards made at the weekend as well as getting my tree and decorations up but unfortunately I have been floored with a flu-like virus and have been in bed since Friday afternoon. Have been to the doctor this morning and guess what .....he wouldn't give me any antibiotics ...told me I'm doing all the right things and that I won't be any better until the middle/end of the week! Typical and so ironic that I was supposed to get the flu jag at work this morning! So it was back to bed for me on my return home and I have sneaked on here for ten minutes while Steven is away to the doctor as he now has it too and while Lewis is having a nap (he's been ill since last Thursday). I hope to be back at the end of the week!

Hope all is well with you wherever you are!

Chilly night! Brrrr!

2008-12-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

Evening all,

Well, it is absolutely freezing here tonight and has been pretty cold all day today. It is forecasted to get really cold during the night, temperature predicted to be -7 so that will make driving interesting in the morning! I hate driving in icy conditions, I would much rather be tucked up in bed. Chance would be a fine thing - roll on the holidays. 13 days and counting!

I was a rebel last night and managed to get lots of crafting done in one night. I managed to make lots of cards which is highly unusual for me as I normally spend so much time making one. I seemed to be on a roll last night and fair enjoyed myself I have to say! I deliberately didn't bring any work home as I spent most of my Sunday working on things for school although that is the norm for me I have to say!

Anyway, here are my creations. The first two are a get well card for my mum as she has been in hospital for some surgery recently and also an anniversary card for my mum and dad (slightly late as you can see from the message!)

I have also been busy making some image wallets for some very special ladies who very kindly sent me some images and who won some PIF candy from me. I have been so slow in getting this done so many apologies! I hope it's worth the wait when they arrive!

The pictures were taken late last night so aren't the best quality! Well, that's it from me for tonight. I have lots of work to get done tonight as a result of having so much fun last night! The new Magnolia stamps I bought at the weekend from the Glitterpot arrived today and I'm desperate to ink them and turn them into Christmas cards, maybe tomorrow night if I'm lucky!

Woo Hoo!

2008-11-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

I've managed to sort my site out and remove the strange bandwidth exceeded message out, thanks to some advice from Debbi! Much appreciated. While I was at it I thought I'd have a bit of a blog spruce up in time for Christmas! Off now to get some Christmas music sorted! How sad!!! Hope to be back later on tomorrow with some creations if I can! Have a great eveing whatever you are doing!

TESTING TIMES

2008-11-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

Evening all,

Just popped on quickly same story as usual, busy, busy, busy! I can't remember the last time I actually was able to sit down and make a card. I'm hoping that I will get the chance to do this at the weekend!

I haven't even had a chance to do some blog hopping so I am WAY behind what everyone has been doing and getting up to. I hope to be able to stop by soon for a chat. I seem to have an annoying message on my page saying that my bandwith has exceeded and some of the text seems to have disappeared from my blog until you run over it with the cursor. Extremely annoying!!! If anyone knows how to fix this, I'd love to hear from you.

Congratulations to Denise, Mar and Debbi who have won my PIF candy. I will be rustling something up for you this weekend and I'll get it popped in the post asap.

I haven't forgotten about you Belinda or Tabitha - a wee something will be on its way to you both too! Apologies girls!

Well off now to enjoy my evening - lots of marking, marking, marking! The joys!

Lainy x

Yippee! The weekend is here!

2008-11-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

The weekend is finally here - Yipee! I've had another manic week - seems to be the story of my life at the moment and I can't see it letting up before Christmas unfortunately! I did try posting yesterday afternoon as I was home from work early for a change but I was having a problem with blogger. Lewis is away this weekend to stay with his grandparents for the weekend so yesterday afternoon I had a wee bit of time to have a play although sadly it was work related. I was playing around with bits and bobs trying to come up with something relatively easy which the kids in my class could have a go at making for our forthcoming school Christmas Fayre. We do this every year and each class has to make something to be sold as part of Enterprise. So far, I have created a santa sleigh which I thought we could fill with some sweeties and a little pouch gift box. Will take some photos later. Any suggestions would be most welcome!

I have been so lucky recently as I have taken part in a few image swaps and have posted the beautiful cards as well as a selection of the images I have received as I now have an abundance to colour in!

Here they are:

From Linda:

From Mar:

From Tabitha:

From Belinda:

I was also lucky enough to win Mar's PIF and what a great PIF it was. This is what I received from her, she is so generous!

The first three people to comment on this post will win a little PIF parcel from me, although not quite sure what it will be yet!

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The lovely Janet who designs the most gorgeous stamps for Spiral Whisper has decided to set up her own design company and to celebrate she has a couple of her new stamps to give away. Go and visit here and I'm sure you'll love her work. I have a couple of her stamps already and I'm planning on buying some more as they are great to work with and her cards inspire you to make your own.

Having a wizard of a time!

2008-11-02T01:46:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Once again it has been such a long time since I posted. What am I like? Must try harder is always my motto where blogging is concerned! I find little enough time to browse and check in with what my blogging buddies are up to and never enough time for myself to post or to even create. Well now that my moan is over, on with what I have been doing ....... think this is going to be a long post.

We were at a Hallowe'en party on Friday night organised by my husband Steven as chairman of our Residents Association. Lots of great costumes worn by both adults and children, great games and lots and lots of fun. Lewis and his wee friend Paul had a ball, they didn't stop dancing all night. Lewis was in his element as a wizard after much coaxing in the morning to get his costume on for his nursery party and then he wouldn't take it off for the rest of the day!! The magic wand he had helped, he loved the sound and they way it lit up. Some photos below:

This week I posted some images and a card wallet to hold them in to two of my lovely blogging buddies Linda and Mar who very kindly agreed to swap some images with me. Here are the card wallets I sent to them:

I in turn received a gorgeous card and lots of fabulous images from Linda which I will post later on once I have taken a photo of them. Thank you so much Linda, I love them!

I have been tagged three times now by four lovely and incredibly ladies, Tracey, Chris, Mar and Belinda but have never gotten around to posting it. So here goes!

The Rules -
1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Interesting facts! Don't know about that!

1. I'm a qualified dancing teacher in tap and modern dance.
2. I was almost born on 29th February! So glad that I wasn't!
3. I love brussel sprouts, can't get enough of them at Christmas time. I know lots of people will
wretching in disgust as they read this! lol
4. I absolutely love watching Strictly Come Dancing and would love to be a celebrity so I could
take part! Wishful thinking I know!
5. One of my passions in life is researching my family tree but same as crafting I never get
enough time to indulge due to my occupation. Just as well I love what I do! Well, most of the
time!
6. I was 30 weeks pregnant on my 30th birthday. How was that for good planning?
7. I would love to do white water rafting. That's the daredevil in me coming out!

Well, over to you now. I hope that you haven't been tagged before, if you have I hope that you don't mind! So I'm tagging the following: Steph, Sue, Linda, Mel, Kath, Emma and Stacey.

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing! The sun is shining here today despite the fact it's bitterly cold. Off now to get the shopping and housework done before taking Lewis to a birthday part this afternoon which he is most excited about! Bless!

Lainy xxx

Chill Out Time

2008-10-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Once again, it has been ages since I last blogged - two weeks to be precise. Far too long. Why does work have to get in the way? Not this week it's not anyway, as I am on my October holiday although have been pretty exhausted most of it so far and have been taking it easy for once. The last three weeks have definitely caught up with me big time and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was literally on my knees. Anyway, feeling bit better now apart from having a dreadful cold (aaargh) and have been catching up with everyones blogs and trying to ignite some inspiration. I'm sitting tonight colouring some fab new stamps I bought from Spiral Whisper by the terrific designers Christine Dark and Janet Roberts and can't wait to get creative with them. I admire their work constantly and I just had to make a start with collecting some of them, I have many more on my wish list! I can hear Santa calling. I also bought the "Royal Mail" Penny Black stamp and have been busy inking that up too - I couldn't resist as I have seen this stamp so often when blog hopping recently. I had planned to have more Christmas cards made by now but same old story - plans don't happen as I want them to!

I recently took part in a Magnolia swap recently on Splitcoast Stampers which was organised by my SBS sister Monica and received lots of great images a few weeks ago. Thanks Monica! I'm looking forward to having a play with those too and maybe getting a scrapbook page or two completed too!

I love receiving new images to play with, well don't we all? Just wondering if there are any crafters out there who would like to participate in a wee swap? Let me know if you do!

Hope to post again tomorrow! Here's hoping!

Lucky day!

2008-10-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Can't believe how long it has been since I last posted - seems like forever! Life has been so hectic and busy and I am gearing up for two long evenings of parents nights on Wednesday and Thursday this week, it always seems like you've run a marathon by the time you stop. On top of that we have also had a pretty horrendous situation happen this week. On Wednesday night we were plagued by Juvenile delinquents who were up to no good and for some reason targeted our house by running through our garden and banging on our windows. This happened 3 times in a row 15 minutes apart until the fourth time, a 14 year old girl decided that she would instead throw a very large stone at our patio door and it smashed to smithereens! They didn't bank on us catching them red-handed, well two out of the five anyway. The police very promptly came and took them away as we had already called them earlier on the night to say what a nuisance they were being. We also managed to get the other three names out of the two girls that we caught and the police think that they will have enough to press charges. I hope so anyway if there is any justice in the world. We live in a lovely area, or so I thought, and have done so for the last seven years without a problem. We now feel a bit on edge in our own house which is really horrible, as they may come back. We found out the next day that two other houses in the same vicinity had their patio doors smashed too, so we weren't the only target, not that that makes us feel any better. And to top it all we will have to pay an excess on our home insurance of £50. Anyway, enough of that!

I was so happy when I came onto my blog this morning and saw a lovely message from Jakki to say that I had won a little prize in her blog candy competition. This raised my spirits instantly as I never win anything normally. I can't tell you how happy it made me feel, so a big thank you to Jakki. Go and visit her blog if you've never visited below, it's fabby.

The weather has been atrocious here today. After Lewis had been for his weekly swimming lesson this morning, we went to do some shopping and get some bits and pieces in Costco. While I was there, I came across this great Scrapbooking Gift Set for £25, a cracking buy so I just couldn't resist and thought that I'd indulge to make myself feel a bit better!

This is what was included:

Scrapbooking organiser
8" x 8" Scrapbook
8.5" x 11" scrapbooK
36 scrapbooking papers
3 paper edgers
26 chipboard alphabet letters
24 buttons
92 glitter stickers
10 chipboard embellishments
160 assorted brads
6 woven labels
180 paper flower embellishments
10 feet of decorative ribbons
17 feet fibres
1 metal bucket

Hope to be back later tonight!

Disneyland Paris

2008-09-21T02:39:00.001-07:00

Morning everyone. I have been trying to post some pictures all this week from our trip to Disneyland Paris last weekend but haven't managed as I have been so busy since I got back with work and catching up on sleep. I'd forgotten how exhausting it is walking around the parks. We had a fabulous time and the sun was shining which was a huge bonus. Lewis had a terrific time and couldn't stop smiling although he didn't like going too close to the characters as he has a bit of a fear of toys/people dressed up who walk and talk, but he was happy enough to see them from a distance. His wee friend Paul on the other hand was beside himself when he met the characters, particularly Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse. Such a magic moment! Can't believe that it was a week ago now. Well the sun is shining here today for the first time in ages so we are going to take advantage and get out and about today so I may well not post again this weekend.

Off to see Mickey!

2008-09-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Just a short post tonight as tomorrow we are heading off for Disneyland Paris. Lewis is so excited as are we, big kids that we are! I made a start on some Christmas cards when I was off work on Wednesday which are going to be making their way to my SBS 15 sister Emma soon along with some more hopefully! Emma began a Christmas card appeal for British troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. All you have to do is make some Christmas cards and leave them blank inside so that members of the forces can then send a Christmas card home to a loved one. If you'd like to get involved yourself, go and visit Emma's blog for further information or to let her know that you're getting on board. Come on ..... what are you waiting for? It's a great cause!

Well, I'm off to get some packing done and hopefully an early night! Have a great weekend whatever you are doing and I'll be back soon hopefully with some great pictures to show of my weekend!

Lainy x

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge

2008-09-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

My goodness, a second post in one day! That's unheard of for me, only because I've been under the weather! I've been desperate to join in with the A spoon full of sugar challenge blog for ages but same old story never have the time, until today! I saw my good friend Nikki's sketch for this week's challenge and decided to give it a go as I have so many Sugar Nellie stamps now, although
you can use a variety of stamps in this challenge now. I absolutely loved the sketch that Nikki produced and will definitely use this again as I was pleased with the end result, even though I was almost out of space for my rub on sentiment at the bottom!

Tilda with Ruffled dress

2008-09-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

Morning everyone. I'm off work today as feeling really poorly. Again! Trying to keep some liquid down as the moment so thought I'd pop on here to distract me a bit. It's safe now to post this card that I made from my SBS sister Sammi's birthday as she received it yesterday. PP was downloaded for free here. I'll definitely be using these papers again as I really love the bright colours. The Tilda stamp is a new one I bought recently as I thought it would be perfect for paper piecing (which I haven't tried yet!), the prima flowers are from my stash, the Happy Birthday tile was a freebie with a magazine I bought (can't remember which one!) and the Happy Birthday embossed card is from someone who sent me a PIF gift a while back (sorry, can't remember who!) I absolutely want a Cuttlebug and I'm hoping desperately that Santa might bring me one. In the meantime, I think I'm going to have to buy some embossed bits and pieces from someone on Ebay to keep me going until then as I really would like some of the snowflake and swiss dots for making Christmas cards.

On another note, I'm wondering if any bloggers out there have ever held a Creative Memories party? I've agreed to have a party, but don't really know too much about what to expect other than it's a bit like having a scrapbooking session and you can spend lots of money (if you wish) buying some lovely scrapbooking materials. I'd be interested in anything you know about it.

My lovely blogging friend Nikki is celebrating reaching 20,000 hits on her blog and is offering a Basic Grey Figgy Pudding paper pad, High Hopes stamp "Snow Sweet Snowlady" (s0 cute!) with "Glorious Day" sentiment stamp. Nikki is such a talented lady who constantly inspires me when I visit her blog and she leaves the loveliest comments on my blog too which I really appreciate. Go and visit her today and add her to your blogroll if she isn't already on there! Leave her a comment on her her blog candy post before 17th September to be in with a chance of winning!

Suzanne who is part of Katharina's Whiff of Joy design team and is celebrating almost reaching 20,000 hits is offering the opportunity to win some fantastic blog candy which includes a gorgeous Whiff of Joy stamp, some basic grey paper, stickles, ribbon, jewels and prima flowers. For the chance to win, visit Suzanne's blog and tell her what your favourite film is before tomorrow evening. She is such a talented lady, you'll want to keep visiting her!

Have a great day wherever you are!

Lainy x

Sugar Nellie - Sweet n Sassy

2008-09-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Quick post tonight. Hurray! I've managed to find a bit of time for myself tonight to get a card made for my best friend Jane's birthday tomorrow. That's unheard of on a school night! I've used my newish sweet n sassy stamp from Sugar Nellie, have had it for about a month now but so far haven't gotten around to inking it up. The paper is from a digital kit I bought at the weekend called Always and Forever from Sweet Shoppe designs. I couldn't resist buying it because the papers were sooo gorgeous and I could picture lots of lovely cards in my head instantly. Getting them made is another thing completely!!!! lol Anyway, I hope Jane likes this card tomorrow night when I give it to her after dinner which I am making for her as a wee treat.

New Baby

2008-09-07T05:27:00.001-07:00

Made this card last night for my little cousin and his girlfriend who had a little baby boy Owen two weeks ago. We were meant to be visiting them in Ayrshire today but unfortunately I seem to have come down with a tummy bug and think Lewis may have it too as he was sick everywhere this morning! Never mind, will need to wait until we're fully recovered now and after our trip to Euro disney next weekend. Can't wait! I made this card using a digital kit called "Bundle of Boy" from Sweet Shoppe designs as I remembered seeing a gorgeous card that Kerry had made with this kit a while ago and decided to purchase it myself. Really pleased with how it turned out and I'm going to try making some more with this kit in the future. I love the different range of papers that are available to buy in digital kits and have kind of converted to using these rather than buying paper packs. The weather is miserable again here - Winter is definitely on the way so I think it'll be a quiet day for me doing some work for school (never ends!) and hopefully will get some crafting down later tonight! (if I get all my work done that is!) May be back later tonight with some more cards or tags or boxes!

Happy Birthday Sammi!

2008-09-05T23:35:00.001-07:00

Glitterfy.com - Glitter Graphics

A very happy birthday to my SBS sister Sammi! Apologies for posting this today instead of yesterday but I had trouble posting on blogger last night. Arrrrgh! Hope you had a wonderful day Sammi and got lots of lovely pressies!

FRIENDSHIP/SISTER SWOP

2008-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is my first ever ATC which was made for my SBS sister Pam (not sure whether it will have arrived yet or not!). Emma, another SBS invited us to make an ATC featuring the word sister or friend and provided us with a swop partner. I used a bear necessities kit from nitwits collection ( a site which I love) and some cute dinky alphabet stamps. The only problem is that the message isn't punctuated properly as I didn't have an apostrophe stamp to use in the word I'm (tut tut and a teacher too). Hope that you forgive me Pam! The "r" in ever and friend also looks like a letter n but it is an "r", I promise. I really enjoyed making this and was pleasantly surprised. Think I will be making more of these! Thanks Emma for introducing me to ATCs!

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The rules...
1. The winner can put the "I love your blog" logo on their own blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

My SBS sister Monica has very kindly given me this great award which really brightened up my day and made me smile. I love receiving awards, well who doesn't? It just gets so difficult to choose who to award it to as there are so many wonderful people who drop past my blog to say hello. I'm going to award it to the following people (apologies if you have had it before!)

Nikki who is super talented and leaves the sweets comments on my blog which always make me smile.

Mar who I met through the docrafts site and has just begun her own blog. Yipee! I can visit and chat constantly now! Go and say hello.

Debbi, another new blogging friend who is a fab scrapper and is a fellow Scot.

Mel, who makes a wealth of gorgeous cards. If you haven't visited her before go and visit her now.

Kristine, another super talented crafter whose blog I love to visit constantly for lots of inspiration.

Chelle, another mega talented US crafter whose blog I found recently. Her creations are stunning.

Sharon, a blogger who I visited for the first time recently and creates absolutely fab funky cards

Happy Birthday Pam!

2008-08-22T14:27:00.001-07:00

A very happy birthday to my SBS sister Pam today. Sending you lots of love and birthday wishes. Hopefully my card will arrive soon if it hasn't already!

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Being back at work is exhausting! I'm absolutely shattered tonight after a hard week of getting back into routine and taming some wild little monkeys! I've got a very demanding class this year who require a lot of firm handling shall we say! lol Oh, such fun! I am hoping to get some much needed crafting done this weekend as I haven't had a chance to do anything this week apart from sleep, work, moan, moan some more, eat, sleep and more moaning. Fed up listening to my own voice, hence the reason why this is short tonight as you will be too reading this no doubt.

Thank You Emma!

2008-08-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

Just popped on here quickly to post a card that I sent to my SBS sister Emma to say thank you for being such a great friend and for all her hard work with our new SBS blog along with another of our great sisters Sammi. I can now post it as Emma received it today. Sammi, yours is on its way to Australia, just has a bit further to travel than Elgin! It'll be there soon I hope! I'm very tired tonight as I have been into school setting up my classroom and have exerted myself a bit too much, so I'm off for a quiet relaxing evening with a big glass of red wine!

2008-08-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's raining here again! What a summer this has been, more like autumn. I made this card the other day along with another (although it is on its way to someone) but just haven't gotten around to posting it until now. It's another using the alota stamps I bought recently. I'm loving using these. There won't be much crafting for me for the next day or two as I am going into work tomorrow and Thursday to set up my classroom for the new school year as work officially begins next Monday for me - boo hoo! Anyway, I'm hoping to perhaps get started on my very first ATC this evening for my SBS swop and I really would like to participate in the Spoonful of Sugar challenge as I have been wanting to do this for ages. I have some new Sugar Nellie stamps and have an idea in mind for once. I also have a few birthday cards I need to get started on too! Do you think I might get them all done tonight? Wishful thinking ........mmmmmmm.

The lovely Emma, my wonderful SBS sister has given me the following award which I am so happy to receive. She is such a great person who is great fun, makes me laugh and is a great listener, especially when you do daft things! She knows what I mean! lol

The rules are:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog

2. Link the person you received your award from

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you’ve nominated

After deliberating, as there are so many fantastic bloggers out there, I have chosen the following people:

Monica who is a great organiser and makes gorgeous cards
Kelly who is super talented and is a great sister in our group
Joana who makes the most fantastic handbags and is such a lovely person to chat to
Sue who inspires me every time I visit her blog with her wonderful creations
Zoe who is another lovely gal who takes the time and trouble to visit my blog
Tracy, another talented crafter who provides much inspiration
Jenn, whose blog I have discovered recently showcasing spectacular work

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I have also received this award from another of my wonderful SBS sisters, Sammi who is such a sweet, kind person who is so talented. Thank you so much, it is much appreciated.

It's called the WYLDE WOMEN award and the purpose of it is "to send love and acknowledgment to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy". Isn't that lovely?

The rules are:

You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you.
Make sure you link to their site in your post.
Link back to Tammy 's blog so that she can go to visit all these wonderful women, and
Remember the Purpose of the Award.

I know that some of my other sisters have also been given this award from Sammi but I would really love to give it to all of them too.

Alota Fun

2008-08-10T01:03:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun making this yesterday using one of Katharina's sketches. I enjoyed following the sketch in the Penny Black challenge that I thought that I'd challenge myself to using another. This is one of the many Alota stamps I bought a few weeks ago. I think he's a little cutie and was so nice to colour. The sentiment stamp is from Elzybell and the papers are from a Shabby Princess kit. I'm into using kits at the moment!

The sun is shining here this morning. Thank goodness! The rain was battering the streets last night and it pretty much rained for most of the night. Hope it's sunny where you are today - it makes you feel so much better!

My First Challenge Card!

2008-08-09T04:39:00.001-07:00

As the weather is so horrible today, we are having a bit of a lazy day! Hurray - at last, some much needed crafting time for me! I'm so pleased with myself too as I have managed to take part in my very first challenge. I have been wanting to participate in one for ages but have never gotten around to it and I loved it, so I guess that means I'm going to have to push myself to do more. Here was the challenge set by the Penny Black Saturday Challenge team today:

"This week we'd like you to follow this fabulous sketch.
You can rotate/flip the sketch - as long as we can still see the sketch in your creations."

Hope to be back later to day with some more creations!

New look

2008-08-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

Experimenting tonight by revamping my blog as I was getting a bit bored with it. Still have some work to do, including a new blog header which may take me a little while, so please bear with me. I feel lost every time I go into photoshop to TRY to create something. I really must go on a course as I don't have a clue what I'm doing but would love to. I have also changed the music on my blog as I have been inspired whilst visiting lots of new blogs tonight and have added them into my blogroll. Had planned to get lots of crafting done this week but have been unsuccessful, hopefully this will change over the weekend. Lewis has had conjunctivitis this week and so between dealing with that and desperately trying to get my house into order before I go back to work, I've had no time. I'm also trying to work out how to show on your blog when people in your blogroll last updated, but can't fathom it out. Any pointers would be most welcome!

Good evening

2008-07-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

Made these cards today for my stepdad's birthday tomorrow. He is such a wonderful man and I am very lucky to have had him in my life for the past 16 years. He's everything a great dad should be and he certainly has been that to me. The first one is made using the rockin' George image which I purchased from Charmed cards & crafts after seeing the fabulous cards which my SBS sister Sammi makes with these images. Her fab work has been featured on the Dottie's World blog, if you haven't visited before now, go and check it out. You won't be disappointed. I really enjoyed colouring him and can't wait to have a go with some of the other images I bought.

The second one was made using the High Hopes stamp "Froggy Gift" which I got from Kelly in our SBS image swap a wee while ago. I have been desperate to use him for ages but have never gotten around to it until now. I think it is such a cute image and I really enjoyed making this card. I think I will have to buy this image as it could be used for lots of different occasions. This card is from Lewis to his papa.

Summer Sunshine

2008-07-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

The weather is glorious here today so this will be a very short post today. We had fantastic weather yesterday and spent the day at the Hopetoun House Fayre in South Queensferry with friends who I met in my ante-natal group whilst pregnant with Lewis. There were eight of us and we all had boys! We like to get together every so often to catch up with all our news and to encourage the boys to be good friends as they grow up. The boys had a great time playing together as did us mummies, munching, talking and drinking a little vino on our picnic blankets. It was a fab day. A few piccies of yesterday are above.

I made this card over the weekend and it will now be winging its way to someone special although I can't say who! I think it's my best colouring yet and I absolutely love the Sarah Kay image I used. I downloaded it from the internet as I have tried to buy some Sarah Kay stamps recently but they seem to be sold out everywhere - really popular at the moment. Never mind, I'm happy with it! I just hope that the recipient will be too! Time will tell. Have a great day whatever you are up to and I hope that the weather is being as kind to you wherever you are.

Bag in a box

2008-07-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

I've had great fun this afternoon making a bag in a box! I came across Paula's great blog today on my travels and came across this brilliant tutorial. The step by step instructions were so easy to follow and Paula uses really clear photographs to direct you too. I'm really happy with my efforts for once as I have tried making other gift bags before and haven't been successful! Must be my lucky day today. Think I will be making lots of these for Christmas time and putting yummy chocolates or maybe homemade fudge in as a wee treat! I don't own a SU Scallop punch so I used a DIY method. I remember reading a great tip on Stacey's blog a while back which is to use a 5p piece to create a scalloped edge so that's exactly what I did. Thanks Stacey! I don't have a Round Tab punch either so I drew my own tabs and it seems to work :o) Well I think so anyway!

My new stamps from Alota that I ordered from Helene last Thursday arrived yesterday. What great speedy service! I'm looking forward to getting those inked up later tonight to make a few cards as I have lots of birthdays coming up. They are so cute. I also ordered some stamps from
Elzybells, mostly sentiments and a lovely personalised handmade stamp too. They have these available until the end of July so pop over and have a look. The service was speedy and great too!

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I've received this fab award from Sue whose blog I visit constantly as she makes wonderful cards and always leaves lovely comments on my blog. Thank you so much Sue. I really appreciate it!

The rules of the award are:

Only 5 people allowed
4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog
One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
You must link back to whoever gave you the award.quite simple really it is a way of saying thank you to those who take time out for wonderful comments to boost your day.

I'd like to award this to:

Joana

Monica

Louise

Robyn

Kath

Missing crafting and blogging!

2008-07-22T01:05:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Hope you're well and life is good. It's been a while since I last posted as life was extremely hectic in June tying up loose ends at work before the summer break and then I've been on holiday in Tenerife for the last couple of weeks which was fantastic. Lewis had a ball, loved flying and we had brilliant weather - sunshine everyday! Just as well as there is very little of it here! I've spent my time washing and ironing pretty much since I got home as well as trying to toilet train Lewis. Now that has been fun!!! Hasn't been very successful so have decided to leave him a little bit longer before trying again. Anyone with great tips out there, I'd love to hear from you! :o)

Here are some pictures from our holiday although I am planning to scrap a lot of them as I haven't done any scrapping in ages:

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AWARD

While I was away my lovely SBS sister Sammi presented all her SBS sisters with this great award! Thank you so much Sammi - I've missed you while I've been missing in blogland!

It's a special award given to weblogs that somehow catch your eye!
The rules for this award:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated

I am going to nominate the following people whose blogs I have come across recently and will be visiting regularly from now on:

Allison
Beckie
Em
Maggie
Pam
Riane
Sam

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YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED

Sammi tagged me a while ago and unfortunately I never got around to doing it because life has been so hectic recently! Sorry Sammi - better late than never! This seems to be the story of my life at the moment!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

Each player answers the questions about themselves.
At the end of the post, the player then tags a few people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

a) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was looking for a job as a teacher having just graduated from University and working in MacDonalds where I worked as a student to earn some much needed cash!

b) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Ironing (more again - will it ever end?)
Going Christmas shopping with Lewis and my sister (Yes, you read correctly!)
Clearing out some cupboards
Watch Big Brother (my nightly viewing!)
Some much needed crafting hopefully - lots of cards to make and some scrapping too!

c) Snacks I enjoy:
raisins
chocolate (not very healthy!)

d) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay off my and my family members mortgages
Buy Steven an Aston Martin (his favourite car)
Give a considerable amount to charity
Do volunteer work for a variety of causes
Buy lots and lots and lots of crafting stash ( or a shop or two!)

Now I tag:
Jenny
Kerryn
Sue

Apologies ladies if you have already done this before! All good fun!

Happy Birthday Monica!

2008-07-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my SBS sister Monica whose birthday is today. Hope it has been a great one!

Blog Candy Alert!

2008-07-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

Have spent some time browsing today to catch up on what I've been missing in Blogland while I've been on holiday the last couple of weeks. There are lots of great candy on offer:

Fran is giving away two fantastic sets of candy to celebrate reaching 25,000 hits. You have until tonight to enter by posting a link on your blog.
Maya has another fantastic giveaway of a gorgeous paperbag filled with 140 Hanglar and Stanglar images to celebrate having 10,000 visitors! I would absolutely love to win these as they are such gorgeous images. I can't wait until they become available to buy at Funky Kits from Sugar Nellie. Post a link on your blog to be in with a chance of winning. You have until 20th July.
Shary is giving away a gorgeous Alota stamp to celebrate being chosen as a Design Team member for Alota. And no wonder to - her creations are stunning and after paying a visit to her site I visited the Alota site and parted with some money. Now, I am counting the days until the gorgeous little bugs arrive! Post a link to Shary's site before the 18th July.
Deb is celebrating her blogoversary, 30,000 hits on her site and her recent birthday. To enter her great giveaway post a link on your site before 19th July.
Lorraine is also giving away some great candy to celebrate her birthday on 29th July. To enter visit her site and post a link from yours.
Claudia is celebrating an amazing 170,000 hits on her site by giving away 200 stamped images in a handmade book. To be in with a chance of winning visit her site and subscribe to her site as well as posting a link on your site to hers and adding her to your blogroll.
Andrea is giving away some fantastic magnolia stamps on her site. To enter post a link on your site before 20th July. She has some truly stunning creations on her site.
Jill is celebrating 2,000 hits on her site. Post a link on your site before 18th July to enter.
Maria is celebrating 5,000 hits by offering some fantastic candy. To be in with a chance of winning, visit her site by 19th July and tell her what is on your wish list of crafting goodies.
Linda is celebrating 1,000 visitors to her site. Post a link to her site and add her site to your blogroll by 19th July to be in with a chance of winning an extra goody bag if you are the lucky winner!
Funky Fairy Papercrafts is celebrating 11,000 visitors to their site in under 4 months by giving away FREE FUNKY FAIRY PAPERCRAFTS PRODUCTS for a WHOLE YEAR. Yes, you read correctly! All you have to do is visit their site by 31st July and tell them why you'd like to win such a fantastic prize!
Susie also has some candy on offer to celebrate her birthday. Post a link on your site before 21st July to enter.
Kim my lovely SBS sister has some great candy to be won to celebrate a facelift on her blog. To be in with a chance of winning, you need to visit her site and sign her guestbook and then post a link on your site announcing her candy giveaway.
Marlene is giving away a Hanglar stamp plus some Hanglar images to celebrate the beginning of the school holidays. Leave a comment on her post and link to your own blog to enter.
Donalda is offering a cute Magnolia stamp help her get to 10,000 hits on her blog which I'm sure she'll get in no time at all. Go on, I'm sure you'll enjoy helping her out.
Tina is celebrating reaching 5,000 hits on her blog by offering some great candy. To enter simply visit her blog, comment on her post, add her blog to your blogroll and if you want to be in with an extra chance of winning you need to sign up to her newsletter too! You have until 27th July to enter.

Candy Giveaways!

2008-06-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

Just had a whistlestop tour of my favourite blogs I normally visit before I'm offski and have come across the following:

My SBS sister Emma who is feeling a bit poorly at the moment is celebrating almost reaching 10,000 hits on her blog and well deserved too! Emma is such a lovely lady who we all adore in our group. Get well soon Emms! She has a £10 gift voucher from Poppicrafts up for grabs. So don't delay and go there straight away! All you have to do is visit her blog and then write link from your blog to hers. Remember to give her some get well wishes while you're there!

My blogging friend Nikki is giving away some fab candy to celebrate 10,000 hits in only 4 short months! I'm quite sure that you have all visited her blog, I'd be surprised if you haven't! Her creations are absolutely stunning and is the source of inspiration for a lot of people I'll bet, including me. You have until the 7th July to post a comment on her blog and to write a post on your blog directing others to it.

Michelle at Stamps, Paper, Scissors and Donkey Smiles (great name for a blog) is also celebrating 10,000 hits on her blog. I have just visited for the first time and will be a regular visitor from now on. She has a terrific blog and is also offering some fab candy. You have until the 4th July to post a comment and link from your blog to hers.

Rebecca is also having a giveaway. All you need to do is visit her blog and tell her what your favourite celebration is before the 7th July to win a great prize. What's stopping you?

Karen is having a giveaway to celebrate reaching over 2,000 hits on her blog. To be in with a chance of winning, you need to visit her blog and tell her about your most memorable school moment and also post a link on your blog to hers. You have until the 7th July to enter.

RAK from Riane

2008-06-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

My blogging friend Riane very kindly sent me a RAK of Penny Black, Magnolia,Rachelle Miller, Hanglar and House Mouse images. I commented on some of Diane's stunning creations and said that I was thinking of buying some Magnolia stamps and she very kindly sent me all of these little beauties. I can't wait until I can get colouring with my prismas. I have used one of the Penny black images on my anniversary card for Steven below. Thank you so much Diane. You are a star! If you haven't stopped by Diane's blog before, go and pay a visit now.

Happy Holidays!

2008-06-30T06:00:00.001-07:00

Haven't had any time recently to either craft or blog although that will change now as I am now on holiday for 7 weeks! YIPEE! I'm off to Tenerife tomorrow for 2 weeks for a much needed rest and to visit my brother who lives there. Lucky thing he is! He celebrated his 40th birthday yesterday much to his disgust. I have quickly made a very simple card for him this morning which I will hopefully give to him on Wednesday with his pressie. His birthday cards greeted on time for once! While we are away, Steven and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary so I have also made him a card this morning. I'm now off to get the rest of my packing done as I'm not yet finished! Ta ta for now! Speak soon.

AND THE WINNER IS................

2008-06-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay everyone. We have been away for the weekend visiting our parents and so didn't get back until quite late this evening. This is why I am so late in posting the winner of my Father's Day challenge. Sorry without further ado ...... Steven has just drawn the winner ...........

Congratuations go to ...........

Well done! Your goodies will be in the post very soon! I still haven't posted a picture of the candy but never mind, it'll be a nice surprise when it gets to you hopefully!

A huge thank you to everyone who took part. I really appreciate it and loved seeing all of your wonderful creations.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.

Speak soon x

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share with you what I made for my husband Steven for Father's Day from our wee boy Lewis. Made him a card and was really pleased with how it turned out for once! I also made a little book for him using pictures of him and Lewis together doing a range of things and used some Papermania stickers. I used a Flip book that I bought ages ago and haven't gotten around using it till now. He was really delighted with them this morning. Some of the photos aren't so good as we're just back from being away for the weekend so not the best time to be taking photos!

Happy Birthday Joana!

2008-06-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

A very happy birthday to my SBS sister Joana! Hope you have a lovely day. Here is the card I made her. Hope it arrived in time! Has been another manic week - still lots of loose ends to tie up at work before the end of term, so no slowing down yet! I'll get around to having some me time to craft soon I hope! Wishful thinking!

BAD BLOGGER!

2008-06-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted! It has been so frustrating not being able to have the time to post or to create anything as I have been knee deep writing reports for my kids - burning the midnight oil a fair bit! There just aren't enough hours in the day. Grrrrr! Anyway, I have a few folks birthdays coming up and so I'll need to get a move on in the creating department. Whilst I have been missing in action, both Sue and Louise have awarded me this award which was very sweet of them. Thank you ladies, I'm very honoured as I like to think that I can be Kreativ when I have the time! Go and check out their blogs, they are both so talented.

I'd like to award this to Kerryn, Maddie, Jenny and Tracy.

Have been trying to catch up with all of my SBS sisters tonight by visiting their sites and seeing what they have been getting up to! Hello to all of you, sorry I have been neglecting you recently. As usual on my travels I have gotten a bit sidetracked and found the following blog candy up for grabs.

Dawny is celebrating reaching 4000 hits on her blog. All you have to do is visit her blog if you haven't already and leave her a comment as well as adding her blog to your blogroll and writing a post on your blog to let others know. Her creations are fab, no wonder she has had so many hits.

Tracy is also offering some fantastic blog candy to celebrate her birthday on 14th June. Visit her site to comment on her post and then write a post on your blog to let others know to be in with a chance of winning. You can also enter a card with a fantasy theme to be in with an extra chance of winning. Go on, do it now!

Carol is celebrating reaching 5,000 hits on her blog. Up for grabs is a fantastic acrylic stamp set from HOTP. You can enter by leaving a comment on Carol's site by Sunday 15th June.

Lorraine is celebrating being a new blogger by offering some great candy too! Head on over to her site and answer her question to be in with a cahnce of winning some Laura Ashley candy.

Don't forget about my blog candy for Father's Day! You have until Sunday 15th to enter. Some stunning creations have been entered so far and you can see these at the top of the page. I hope to post the prize tomorrow!

Enjoy your evening!

Blog Candy Giveaway!

2008-06-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the entries received so far!

Blog candy Giveaway!

2008-06-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

As I have been lucky enough to win some fab goodies as a result of PIF candy recently, I have decided to give away my own blog candy. Since it will be Father's Day fairly soon on Sunday 15th June, I would like you share your fabulous creations that you intend on giving your dad for Father's Day. It could be a card, scrapbook page, altered item, anything really as long as it has been made by your fair hands! I will post the candy you will receive if you are the winner very soon! You have until midnight Saturday 14th June to enter and all you have to do is leave me a message with a link to your creation. It is as easy as that. The winner will be selected randomly by my son Lewis on 15th June and the winner's name will be posted here. Good luck!

A Day with Thomas

2008-05-19T02:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took Lewis to see Thomas the Tank at Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway which isn't far from where we live. We had intended taking him last year but the horrible weather put a stop to it. Anyway, I think it was probably a good thing that we didn't visit until yesterday as I think he would have been too young back then to appreciate it fully. He had a great time even though he was slightly unsure of Sir Topham Hat, as were we! I will need to use some of the photos to make some scrapbook pages - that'll be a job for my summer holidays I think as I don't think I'll get around to it by then as I am swamped with work at the moment. I should be writing my reports at the moment instead of this!!!!! Hey ho!

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My SBS sister Sammi tagged me last week with this fun circle of friends. I know have to choose four blogging friends to tag ..........what a difficult decision! I'm going to choose .............

Kath
Louise
Stacey
Zoe

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SBS SISTER EMMA

Emma has some blog candy up for grabs to celebrate both her birthday and 5000 hits on her blog. To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is visit Emma's blog here and leave her a comment as well as providing a link to her blog on your own blog. You have until tomorrow to enter so drop by now and say a belated Happy Birthday to her. She's such a lovely person.

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HEIDI'S HANGLAR BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY

Heidi is giving you the chance to win about 30 stamped Hanglar images as well as an actual stamp! Hanglar stamps are so gorgeous and it is so frustrating that us UK stampers can't get our mitts on them! To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic generous prize, pop over to Heidi's fabulous blog and leave her a comment as well as providing a link to her blog on yours. You can find Heidi's blog here. You have until 31st May.
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BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY

As I have been lucky enough to win some fab goodies as a result of PIF candy recently, I have decided to give away my own blog candy. Since it will be Father's Day fairly soon on Sunday 15th June, I would like you share your fabulous creations that you intend on giving your dad for Father's Day. It could be a card, scrapbook page, altered item, anything really as long as it has been made by your fair hands! I will post the candy you will receive if you are the winner very soon! You have until midnight Saturday 14th June to enter and all you have to do is leave me a message with a link to your creation. It is as easy as that. The winner will be selected randomly by my son Lewis on 15th June and the winner's name will be posted here. Good luck!

Here is some of the candy that I have been lucky enough to win recently!

From Stacey:

From Sharon:

From Richelle:

Well, I'd better go and get on with those reports!

Happy Birthday Lewis!

2008-05-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today is my son Lewis' 2nd birthday, I can't believe where the two years have gone! Frightening! I have been so busy recently as we have been getting organised for his party yesterday and tonight we went for a birthday tea with his best friend Paul. His party went extremely well yesterday despite the horrible weather and Lewis had a great time which was the most important thing. He absolutely loved his birthday cake which had Roley and Scoop from Bob the Builder on it. He is a massive Bob fan and got lots of Bob the builder pressies which he'll have great fun with. A very lucky boy! Last night after tidying up the debris of the party, I finally got around to making his birthday card. I made another train like the one I made for his friend Paul's birthday but adapted it by making some animals to be the passengers of the train. Now I just need to busy myself making thank you cards for all of the presents which he got and I must try to make some scrapbook pages of the big event and the birthday boy!

Blog Hopping again!

2008-05-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

I really must stop this! I am full of good intentions to get lots of crafting done, particularly as it is a bank holiday weekend and once again have gotten a bit carried away in visiting blogs! Is it just me??? I start by visiting my fellow stamping sisters to see what they have been getting up to first of all, then I see lots that I like and begin travelling all over the place and before I know it, I have spent a good hour doing no crafting! Anyway on my travels this evening, I have come across lots of fabulous blog candy and just have to tell you all about it.

First of all, my SBS 15 sistah Sammi @ stuffbysammi is giving away this fantastic candy in celebration of reaching 1000 hits on her blog. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to design a card or scrapbook page with a French theme or to post a link to her blog on yours. Go and check out her blog now!

Kitty @ Kitty's Krafty Blog is giving away another lot of fab candy to celebrate 20,000 hits on her blog. All you need to do is to visit her blog and post a comment that links her blog to yours and to post her giveawy on your blog. You have until the 7th May to enter.

Mother Ila @ Artfully Ila and daughter Trina @ Timeless Treasures are giving away brilliant candy to celebrate Ila's birthday on the 6th May. To enter you need to visit Ila's blog and either tell her what your favourite stamp is and leave a link to it or spread the word about her blog candy on your own blog. Then you need to visit Trina's blog and tell her what your favourite card verse or sentiment is or to post a link to her candy on your blog.

Susie @ White Ribbon Cards has another great giveaway on her blog to celebrate her reaching 10,000 hits. You have until midnight on Sunday 4th May to enter and this is what you need to do. First of all add Susie's blog to your blog roll, secondly write a post about her candy on your blog and thirdly leave her a message so that she can see that you have done both of these things. You only have until tomorrow night so get cracking!

I'm going to stop hopping now and go and attempt to make a birthday card for Lewis' 2nd birthday which is next Monday. The earlier I start the better as I know that my week will run away and his birthday will be here before I know it! Enjoy your weekend.

Sugar Nellie

2008-04-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

My new sugar nellie stamps arrived this morning and before too long they were inked up and well used. At last I got some crafting done today in between beginning my class' reports, but only because I am off work with conjunctivitis. I'm hoping to go back to work tomorrow if the doctor says that I can. Fingers crossed! I'm really pleased with how these cards have turned out - a good purchase! Also spent some time in the garden with Lewis this afternoon enjoying the sunshine as we haven't seen much sun so far this year.

Great candy!

2008-04-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have received some fabulous candy from Kath at the end of last week but unfortunately with Lewis being ill haven't gotten around to posting it. She also sent me such a sweet card - it's gorgeous! Thank you! I can't wait to get a bit of time to myself to experiment!

Kath has a fantastic blog candy giveaway at the moment to celebrate reaching 5000 hits on her blog. All you need to do is to visit her site and leave a comment and you'll be in with a chance of winning one of three fabulous prizes. You have until the 10th May to enter - so don't delay!

Some more fabulous candy arrived from Tracy on Thursday. I can't wait to get tinkering with my prismas and sansador on all of the lovely stamped images she sent me, amongst other things. A very generous package. Thank you!

I am in the process of packaging my pif candy winners goodies at the moment, so they will be in the post tomorrow. I'm so sorry for the long delay ladies but hopefully they'll be worth it when they arrive!

My new stamps from Panduro arrived also last week and I have been tinkering with those this morning so will be posting some cards made with those soon. They are so cute!

I purchased some of the new Sugar Nellie stamps on Friday from Funky Kits so hopefully they will arrive some time later in the week!

I've been tagged!

2008-04-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that more than a week has passed since I last posted and I haven't had a minute to do any crafting, despite being full of good intentions! Lewis has been ill a good part of the week which started off with a trip to our local hospital last Friday evening due to having an extremely high temperature and other not so nice symptoms. They put it down to a viral infection but I have a sneaky suspicion that back teeth have been playing a helping hand! He seems to be back to his usual cheery self now, thank goodness! So hopefully I may get round to posting something this weekend.

While I have been missing in action the past week, I've been tagged by the lovely Zoe. I haven't been tagged before so I was intrigued as to what I would find on Zoe's site when I arrived and thankfully discovered that the questions weren't too tricky to answer as I think my brain might have a bit of difficulty coping after the frantic week I've had!

1. If a movie was being made of your life who would you like to be cast to play yourself? and why? I would chose Michelle Pfiffer as she played a teacher who tried her best to give her students a great start in life in the film Dangerous Minds and I'd like to think that that's what I do most days!
2. You are spending a whole month on a dessert island for charity and you have to choose your favourite celebrity to spend the first two weeks with & your least favourite celebrity to spend the second two weeks with, who would they be & why? I would chose George Clooney first of all to spend the first two weeks with as he is great eye candy and I wouldn't get bored looking at him. My second two weeks would be spent with ........... I can't seem to think of one at the moment!
3. What are your three favourite crafting products? That's a difficult one! I'd have to say prismas, goregeous papers and ribbon at the moment!
4. If you could invent something to do anything what do you think it would be?
5. What are the last three books that you read? It has been a while since I have read any book as I don't get the time unfortunately, unless I am on a long holiday from work but the last book I read was The Timekeeper's Daughter which was fantastic. I couldn't put it down and recommend it to you if you haven't already read it yourself. I spend my time reading books to Lewis instead who adores books particularly ones featuring trains from Thomas the Tank or Bob the Builder!
6. Qvc or create & Craft? QVC although to be honest I have only seen it a few times!
7. Docrafts or Dovecraft or DCWV? It has to be DCWV.
8. What is your claim to fame? Dancing with Wayne Sleep quite a number of years ago at a Teacher's Day of Dance. He was amazing to watch!

Now I need to pass this on to 5 others...so many people to choose from. I'm going to choose some of my SBS 15 sisters:

Sammi
Joanna
Kelly
Robyn
Monica

I'll look forward to reading your answers.

Hello there!

2008-04-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it is a week since I last posted!! I have been so swamped at work - lots of marking and planning! The joys of being a teacher, particularly at the start of a new term. Anyway, enough of my moaning! I hope to be able to get some cards and perhaps a scrapbook page or two done over the weekend - that may just be wishful thinking. Tonight I decided to have a wee break from work and do some blog hopping to catch up with my sistahs and their great creations and also to visit some new ones. This is more addictive at the moment than actually crafting!

I have discovered that I have won some more PIF candy! This is a great idea and it is such a lovely surprise when the postie arrives at your door with the package that someone has very kindly sent to you, just for visiting their blog and leaving a comment. If you haven't taken part, you really must try it! I have been lucky enough to win some candy from Kath who was the very first person to visit my blog and is a very talented fellow Scot. You should go and check out her work as she has just been selected for the Funky Hand Design Team so huge congratulations to her. I have also won some candy from Sharon and Richelle, two other great ladies with brilliant blogs. I am in the midst of preparing my own PIF candy for the six lucky ladies who won on my own blog. Don't worry ....... I haven't forgotten about you and it should be with you soon. I will be doing some more PIF candy soon as a result of winning this new candy so keep checking back!

I have also discovered some great giveaways on other blogs I have visited tonight and thought I'd let you know about them so you can visit and enter yourself. That is, if you haven't done it already! You can win the complete set of the very latest studio G stamps, 15 in total, and a rather nice set of Rhona Farrer flower and butterfly to celebrate 15,000 hits on Enfys' blog, just by leaving a comment on her blog by the 23rd April.

Tracie-Jane is offering some Pink Cat Studio stamps to celebrate her birthday. All you have to do is visit her blog and leave a comment and then provide a link from your blog to hers. You have until the 30th April to enter.

Katharina is offering an original Hänglar and Stänglar stamp as well as some other stamped images to celebrate her 30th birthday which is today. These stamps are so cute and very hard to come by! You'll no doubt have seen some wonderful creations on other people's blogs who are so lucky to own these! All you have to do to enter is to subscribe to Katharina's newsletter, link her blog to your blogroll, leave her a comment on her blog and write a post about her blog candy on your own blog. So don't delay, go and visit and wish her a very happy birthday! You have until 25th April to enter.

PIF Candy Winners!

2008-04-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kath, Tracey, Sharon, Monica, Robyn and Lisadwb who are the winners of my PIF candy. Please could you email me with your addresses so that I can post your candy out to you. My stamping sisters, Monica, Robyn and Lisa don't need to do this as I already know your addresses. My email address is in my profile. I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Bob the Builder - can you fix it?

2008-04-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is indeed a question I had to ask myself tonight as I had a major cardmaking disaster. I started to make another birthday card for my son's friend Paul but it didn't quite turn out the way that I had expected or hoped! So this was the end result, not as good as I'd hoped that it would be but never mind. Hopefully he'll like it as he is a Bob fan.

PIF CANDY!

2008-04-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

I would like to say a huge thank you to Tracey who sent me this wonderful card and blog candy yesterday. I am really looking forward to having a play with them, especially the stamped Magnolia images as I have been looking to buy some of these recently. As I have been lucky enough now to win two lots of PIF (Pass It Forward) blog candy as I won some from another Tracy a few weeks ago, I am going to offer some PIF candy to the first 6 bloggers who comment on this post. If you are lucky enough to win some candy from me, you then have to offer some PIF candy on your own blog in return.

All aboard the birthday train

2008-04-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Have been busy this morning making a birthday card for Lewis' friend Paul who will be two on Wednesday. Paul absolutely loves Thomas the Tank just like Lewis and probably any other boy that age so I decided that I would try to make a train card and it took me a lot longer than I expected! I am very happy with the end result and it was very different from any other card which I have made so far.

Nikiki’s Card Creations: 15,000 hits Blog Candy!

2008-04-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

Nikki is offering the chance to win fab blog candy to celebrate 15,000 visits to her blog. What do you need to do to have a chance of winning I hear you ask? It’s very simple ………. All you need to do is visit her blog and leave a comment and then provide a link from your blog to hers. The winner will be drawn on Monday 7^th April! Go on……….. Good luck!

Nikki's Cards and News

Double whammy!

2008-04-03T00:12:00.001-07:00

I've received the Arte Y Pico (Art & More) award from my SBS sisters Emma and Sammi. I can’t believe it, what a nice thing to wake up to. I’m thrilled. Thank you both of you! You should definitely go and check out their fabulous blogs if you haven’t already done so. Sammi lives in Australia and her blog can be found here: Sammi
Emma at the moment lives in Gibraltar but will soon be making her way to Scotland. Yipee! Her blog is here: Emma
I now have the opportunity to choose ten top bloggers ……… a difficult decision due to the amount of talent I spot on a daily basis ……….

The rules of this award are....
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity,design,interesting material,and also contributes to the blogging community,no matter what language.
2. Each award has to give the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. To show these rules.

All of my blogging sisters have had this award already so I have chosen ten others who I'm passing it onto...

Simply Jools
Stash, stash and more stash
All that glitter
Doodles and swirls
Patterned Paper
Moonlight Inker
Natalie's Creative Corner
A Personal Touch
Cindersmcphee's Random Blog
Carpe Diem

All of their blogs are fantastic and have provided me with lots of inspiration, so go and check them out quickly!

Oh so happy!

2008-03-31T04:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy, oh so happy ........ The sun is shining here today and it is actually a warm 12 degrees. It's amazing what a little bit of sun can do! Anyway, the sunshine has inspired me to use yellow today on a card for my friend's 3rd wedding anniversary tomorrow. I have used my Simon and Lola stamp for the first time but still need to work on my colouring. I can't wait for the new release of sugar nellie stamps, hopefully sometime this week. Whatever you are doing today and wherever you are, have a good day!

Rush , rush, rush

2008-03-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Haven't had much time to craft today with one thing and another and my efforts have been concentrated on making a birthday card for Lewis to give to his gran tomorrow on her birthday. It has been a bit of a rush job but I am pretty pleased with how it has turned out. Managed to get my hands on some prima flowers today and I just couldn't resist using one on the card and added a bit of bling too! Off now to get organised as we are going to friends in Glasgow for dinner so no doubt it will be a late night! Have a good evening whatever you are doing.

PIF Candy!

2008-03-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win this fab PIF (Pass/Play it Forward) candy from Tracy at bluedaisycrafts whose blog I visit frequently. I haven't yet had a chance to use any of these fantastic goodies yet but as I seem to have a creative streak at the moment, I may well use them in the next few days. I will be doing my own PIF candy in the next few weeks so keep watching this space!

Another site I visit regularly is that of Andrea Gourley who is so creative in her designs. Her fantastic work encouraged me to purchase some digital kits from one of the websites she designs for, Nitwit Collections, and to experiment myself. Here are my efforts below:

Made using the Happily Ever After Kit from Nitwit Collections. Dragon is decoupaged.

Made using papers and embellishments from the Happily Ever After collection from Nitwit Collections. The butterfly is decoupaged.

Again made from the same collection. Flowers were decoupaged this time. There are endless amounts of cards which could be made with this kit due to the large amount of papers and embellishments which come with the kit. I totally recommend it!

This card was made using the Goin' Bananas Collection from Nitwits also. I purchased this kit because Lewis absolutely loves monkeys and thought that the kit would come in handy for making his 2nd birthday party invitations. Not sure whether to add some gingham ribbon to this or not to tie in with his neckerchief! I can't decide!