A couple of cards...

A very quick post of a couple of cards I finished yesterday - thanks to my lovely new lamp! It made such a difference when doing such subtle colouring.

As always - thanks for looking!

365 #212

This is probably the most important delivery for me at the moment, it could change my life and that of my family. It's my goLITE, a S.A.D therapy light. I know the weather has been dreadful again, but joking a side it makes my life even worse when we have such a serious lack of sunlight. I can't get up in the mornings, I can't stay awake in the evenings, I would sleep the day away if I could and lets not talk about how short tempered I can become. So, here it is, something to help regulate my body clock. I need to use it in the morning, so tomorrow is the first day. Fingers crossed that in a weeks time I'll see the difference, that or sods law the sun will be out again next week and sort me out anyway! Be just my luck...LOL.

365 #211

Let there be light! On my work desk at least. I have finally gone and got myself a daylight lamp and already I love it, love, love it! Let grey days and dark evenings no longer be a reason not to craft! Hurrah!!

If you want to know where I got it from - here, on eBay.

Oh - and yes, thats my cutting mat, the one you couldn't see earlier on!

WOYWW....

Yes, I know it's Thursday, but Angie seemed to want to know. So, this is the aftermath of my creative process...my work desk as it was last night, and this morning. I have some cards to play with so it's on my list to tidy up today so that I can start the next project.

I've taken a nice wide shot so you can get the full horror! I have to admit, the LO I did of Rosie yesterday was done at Chris' desk as there was no room on mine and the urge was too strong to scrap the photo to have to wait until I'd had a tidy up.

TFL!

Sleeping peacefully

This afternoon I went back through some older photo's with a view to scrapping one, and I found one of Rosie when she was 8 weeks old, fast asleep on the sofa. I wasn't intending to scrap it this quickly, more storing some up, but I couldn't resist the urge.

365 #210

The house has been quiet this morning as Jamie stayed in bed. At half past nine I started to get worried that he was ill so went in to his room. Nope, not ill, asleep! The conversation went something like this....

"Jamie - are you OK?"

"yes"

"Did you stay up late reading?"

"No, and I didn't get out of bed to play with my dinosaurs either.."

So, there is my answer as to why he was still asleep at half nine this morning. Dinosaur play! I left him in bed and the kitchen clock shows the time he decided to grace us with his presence. Still at least he's not ill...just hope bedtime goes OK tonight now.

A 365 layout

Back in June I took a photographs of one of Rosie tantrums for my photo of the day. I've chosen two of them and scrapped them. I didn't want to mention at "t" word, so the title come journalling reads, "not every day is good when you are 2"

Thanks for looking!

365 #209

I had promised Jamie that when he got home from nursery we would have "movie time". This involves films of his choice and a bowl of popcorn. First up was Cars (seen a million times now and I wondered off) but then Rosie went for a nap and Jamie and I cuddled up and watched Robots. It was very special as it's not often it's just the two of us.

365 #208

Useless memory that I have, I forgot it was Tuesday, so here is my photo for yesterday. Mondays has become weigh in day. I'm not so much as on a diet, more cutting out the snacks. To help me cut out the snacks, I have this, my money jar. For each pound I lose I put a £1 in the jar. In three weeks I have saved up £7.50. A nice steady amount. Chris has now decided to join me, not in losing weight, but running. For each pound I lose, he has to do a run. His incentive, if he doesn't do as many runs as I lose pounds he has to cough up the cash and pop it in my jar. So, if I lose 2lbs, he has to do 2 runs, or add £2.00 to my jar. Guess he'll be running then...LOL.

365 #202 - 204

I have an apology to make as I have once again not been posting. Mainly down to the fact that I have been leaving my camera in the car whilst we were on a number of days out last week, mainly due to the weather. Also not helped by the fact that I snapped my only SDHC card....aarrrgh! Had to go back to my old SD card which isn't really great in my 450D.

Anyhoo, a quick catch up for the last few days, photo's taken after the event, but to serve as reminders for me as to the events of those few days.

365 #202

On Wednesday we visited The Forbidden Corner. An amazing place where we spent three hours and still didn't find everything that there is to find. It's like a huge maze with lots of follies. The weather wasn't too bad and it wasn't a pushchair friendly place (no matter what they say - it isn't), it was also a pain to carry anything with you, so everything went back to the car, camera included but I did managed to get a shot of Jamie on a big wooden hog before doing so.

365 #203

Dinosaurs! All I can say is WOW!!!! On Thursday we went to see the Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular. If you've thought you might like to go - GO! It was worth it. Again I didn't take the camera (no flash photography allowed) so here are our tickets as proof we went. Rosie and Jamie were glued to it. Jamie was sat on the edge of his seat throughout.

365 #204

New SDHC cards - 4gb and on offer at PCWorld for £6.99, so I had two. Now I have a spare that will store more than 100 photo's, and cope with multi shooting! Hurrah!

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll be back later with some crafting, but for now I've promised Jamie I'll sit with them for movie afternoon. We have popcorn!

Thanks, as always, for looking!

The things you say...

I sat the other night with my A4 scrapbook notebook, a place I keep all my thoughts for LO's, and rattled off a huge list of LO's that I want to do. This is the first of them.

In the last few months Jamie has collected a staple set of sayings that, if he's not careful he'll wear out before long. I thought it was time I recorded them. It's already making me smile reading them back, even though it my not always make me smile when they leave his lips.

The journaling reads:

the things you say..

1. When I'm a Daddy

2. You're just not getting my question

3. BUT, I'll be hungry forever

4. I just want some peace and quiet

5. Mummy, Daddy - I love you

6. Poooooh!

7. But that will be just boring....

Thanks for looking!

365 #201

I admit I have a weakness for shoes and handbags, isn't that part of being a woman though. Outside of that I am not very girlie at all. Monday saw a shopping trip to get Jamie a new rain coat from the local McArthur Glen outlet,and I came back with a handbag! Not my fault - a Tula factory shop has opened and I have been looking for a bigger bag as Rosie is slowly but very surely giving up the pushchair. I need somewhere to carry those drinks and spare bits that come with kids. I should add that it was better than half price and Jamie did also get a rain coat.

365 #200

Today was an outing treat as part of Jamie's birthday celebrations and we went to a very rainy Chester Zoo. Not much chance for photographs due to the rain, but when we reached the Cheetah's, the one animal this visit I really want to see, the sun came out and the rain stopped. Chance for a quick lens change and a few moments to just stand and wait. It was worth it and I have quite a few shots, but these two are amongst my favourites. I do have some face on shots as well, but I think these show her off much better.

Whilst there we went in to the Butterfly house. It took a while for the camera to get warm enough take any shots as it kept misting up after being out in the cold. Just as we were about to leave Jamie was a bit upset because one hadn't landed on his hand, then low and behold a glass wing landed on his finger. He was chuffed to bits.

365 #199

So, this is what a four year old looks like then is it...?! Saturday was Jamie's birthday.

Big phew that he didn't wake up having grown a second head or anything....it's my parental nightmare but I guess I'm safe for now. When I asked him what did it feel like to be four, he replied " The same as three. " Can't argue with that can I?!

Happy Birthday Son!

Hula hoop style....

At Easter Chris' family always have a gathering of some sort and this year we went somewhere that had a circus skills session running. Jamie tried his hand at hula hooping, and he wasn't bad at it either. Now I have it remembered in a LO.

I've used up past Scrapagogo kits for this LO, with a few added extras -
Jenni Bowlin tickets and a couple of AC flairs. My flair mountain is
slowly but surely going down.

Right, I think that that's enough from me for today. Better get some h*&£$"^%k done. Thanks for looking!

Choose...

Number three of the three Sugar Nellie stamps, "Choose". Another lovely image. I thought I'd share the final one with you as you have left me so many lovely comments.

Again I have used distress inks and inktense pencils to colour the image. I now have to choose one of the cards to send to my friends little girls for their birthday...Or will I end up making another one. Not sure I'm ready to part with these just yet.

365 #198

Rosie and I have been out shopping this morning and I have firmly introduced her on how to shoe shop. I went for three pairs. Now, I wasn't going shoe shopping - it just happened, as it does. I was going for balloons, which I got along with a canister of helium.

This pair (oh how I lurve them......) I came home with, with a second (different) pair are on order to collect next week. Oh and we're off to Sheffield to see the BBC Walking With Dinosaurs show next week so I may have to see if I can pick up the third pair that they didn't have in my size or in stock at the warehouse while we're over there.

365 #197

When Jamie had a school visit last week he was given some runner bean seeds to grow at home. The school is very big on fresh produce so are taking part in a Morrison's initiative to grow your own, that and they have a gardening club. Anyway - last Saturday while I was having my mammoth cooking session, Chris helped Jamie to plant his seeds in some pots, and last night we noticed that they have sprouted.

Sugar Nellie Cards

For ages I have flicked through magazines like Craft Stamper and admired some of the stamps that are out there, and on Monday I spotted some new Leanne Ellis designs for Sugar Nellie. I couldn't hold out any longer, I ordered three and they arrived today. Whilst the kids were happily playing (which is a minor miracle the mood Rosie has been in today) I set to work and so far have made two cards with them.

Stamps used on these cards are "Wish" and "A Little Hug". Wish has been coloured using just distress ink and a little added sparkle to the wings and word, and on A Little Hug I've used distress inks and inktense pencils. I thought that with the simplicity of the illustrations muted tones would work well.

I wasn't going to make my Christmas cards this year, but if they produce a Christmas line like this I may well change my mind on that.

As always, thanks for looking.

Home - a layout to share

What's this....another LO! Oh yes, two in one day. One of the classes on Sunday was entitled "Home is where the heart is" I liked the idea but wasn't mad about the LO so when this months kit arrived earlier today I decided that it suited me more and I'd scrap the same photo.

The journaling reads.

"Home.

The house that Chris & I chose together. Ours.

31 March 2007 we moved in. It's where my heart is.

The place I always want to return to. It belongs to our family.

It's my safe place.

This house will always be special."

...............

As always, thanks for looking!

SLYMI - Week 23

Ta-dah....here it is, my self portrait layout. I decided to go for nice muted tones, I guess you could say playing it safe for the first SP I've ever scrapped. I'm logging this down down to SLYMI week 23, but it could also come under week 16 - scrapping in the morning as I was up at 07:30 doing it.

365 #195

I've decided that I want to do a LO so i went back through the SLYMI themes and found week 23: Self portrait. So, this is the photo I intend to use. I spent ten minutes taking shots of myself at arms length and am fairly pleased with this one. And ahhh...now you know what I look like if you haven't done one of CJ's courses that I've been on. I hadn't realised just how many freckles I have but for all my faults this is me, almost au natural (touch of lippy and mascara).

365 #193

Sunday was an early start with a decent drive to reach Warrington for 09:30 for Scrapagogo's Colour Me Happy Too! event. And boy, did it feel like a long drive and I just wanted to go back to bed once I got there. The day had 4 classes and the LO above is from the final class of the day, taken by Eileen. The photo was to be of someone who completes your life, so it was obvious, it had to be of Chris. I took the photo Saturday evening in the garden, once the kids had gone to bed and we still had some light. I really like this shot of him (copy below)

The LO was a challenge for me purely because it uses sooooo much pink! Eeek! I don't do pink, hate the colour generally. but I just had to get over it. The journaling reads:

"Thank you,

...for making me smile

...for the hugs & kisses

...for always being there for me

...for being a brilliant Dad

...for making a great biryani

...for being you

...for being in my life

365 #192

Bit of a busy day as I've spent most of it baking, but in amongst all of that Jamie picked our first home grown strawberry. It's going to feature in a colour mini book for one of the classes tomorrow as I'm off to Scrapagogo's "Ooop North" or Colour me Happy too as they like to call it.

365 #191

The house smells of the shortbread I've just taken out of the oven, and this little lot (well, not all of it) is destined to go on top after a layer of rich caramel.

365 #190

What a messy day today. I did some more housework, but as the kids were happily playing for a while I took the opportunity to catch up on my crafting jobs, namely the CJ you see in today's earlier post.

So, here it is - the aftermath of my efforts. It is fair to say that this is what my desk normally looks like. The CJ pages have been put in but I'm leaving it open to thoroughly dry now before wrapping it up ready for posting on.

On a slight side note, have you been checking out the CHA sneak peeks.... oh, I'm a tad addicted to the new American Crafts lines and planning JYC 2009 from the Merry Mint line. There is a link to the studio blog in my inspiration list on the right. You know ya wanna!

Circle Journal time again....

When I say CJ time again - what I really mean I'm late, I'm late...eeek. Only a few days, but here, finally is my entry for Penny's (catslovelycats) journal "Smile". The journal theme is all about the things that inspire you or cheer you up when times are tough, things that we can pass on to Penny to use when her own days are hard going. I love the idea of this journal, and it's fascinating to read everyone else's entries.

My entry all all about Meditation, the art of mindfulness. Something that when it all starts to feel to much I turn to. I always sleep so much better and the world no longer seems impossible.

To create the pages I have used plain white card stock, distress inks (tea dye, scattered straw, broken china, vintage photo, shabby shutters, fired brick and peeled paint), Perfect Pearls (heirloom gold), Inkadinkadoo stamps - I think that's what they are... Tim Holtz spinners and chain and last but by no means least, two 7Gypsies tags.

Thanks for looking!